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RECOLLECTIONS 



OF A 



Sea Wanderer's Life 



AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN OLD-TIME SEAMAN WHO HAS SAILED 

IN ALMOST EVERY CAPACITY BEFORE AND ABAFT THE 

MAST, IN NEARLY EVERY QUARTER OF THE GLOBE, 

AND UNDER THE FLAGS OF FOUR OF THE 

PRINCIPAL MARITIME NATIONS 




GEORGE DAVIS 



ILLUSTRATED 

BY PORTRAITS OF THE AUTHOR IN YOUTH AND IN AGE, AND A 
HUNDRED OTHER ENGRAVINGS 



New York 

A. H. KELLOGG, PRINTER 

ioo and 102 Reade Street 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1887, by 

GEORGE DAVIS, 

in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C 



DEDICATED 



OLD-TIME SEAMEN 

When wooden ships were manned and sailed by MEN of iron, 

and not as now, 

When iron ships are run by wooden men; 



MERCHANT PRINCES, 
True Friends and Patrons of Sea Wanderers ; 

TO 

SHIPBUILDERS, 

Who would if they could ; 

TO 

CONGRESS, 

Who could if it would, 

Restore the Prestige of American Shipping, 

AND TO 

HON. WILLIAM WALTER PHELPS, 

Whose genuine love of humanity we hope will prompt him to 

work for the good cause so dear to the heart of 

an old sailor, 

GEORGE DAVIS. 



CHAPTER OF CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Preface 3. 

Introduction 5. 

Glossary of Sea Terms 395 

Chapter I. 

Defoe — Dibdin's Songs — Spinning a Yarn — Carroll Ryan — Out of One Kid — 
Dock Loafing — General Hewitt — Eliza Cook — Mason — Stowaway — Dick 
Stuart — Frenchy — Afloat — Fo' castle— Turned Out — Tried — Capt Sellers 
— Guilty — Sentenced— Good-bye — Cabin Boy 9-44 

Chapter II. 

Look Out — Man at the Wheel — Horse Play — Spinning Yarns — Shorten Sail — 

Man Overboard — Bill Collier — Black-Eyed Susan — Royal Dock — London 45-59 

Chapter III. 

Sharks — Paget— Washing— Regatta — Trouble Signal — Flotsam — Bay of Bis- 
cay — More Yarns — 'Any Moss — Paddy's Hurricanes — Captain Brophy — 
Tar River — Schooner Valliant — Columbus — Horrified — Anchor Watch — 
Bristol Fashion 61-84 

Chapter IV. 

Belaying Pin — Fall from Aloft — Captain Depeyster — Choosing Watches — 
Blubber Hunters — Sailors— Outfit — Fo'castle Morals — Sailors' Home — 
Dining Room — Aboard — Jack's Quarters — Liverpool — No Crew — New 
Crew — Trouble Ahead — Captain's Eye — Choosing Watches — Trouble — 
Shoot 'Em — Mutiny Ended — Jack Allen's Yarn — Good Crew — On the 
Banks — Black Ball Line 85-120 

Chapter V. 

Bill Chapman — Whalers — New York Docks — Improvements — New York 
Wharves — Niantic Block — Hudson Street — Sailor Brother — On Board 
Again — Rain at Sea— Hurricane — Joe Byers — Work at Sea — Sail, Ho! — 
Brig Adrift — Silent Strangers — Shellback — Thome's Stories — Dolphins — 
M an-of- War— Albatross— Goney Killed— Desolation— Jack Lenine— Mon 
soon— Proas— Hong Kong — Samshu— Dangerous Work — Killing Rats 
Seven Men Lost— Chops— Monkeys— Quarreling— Steward Stabbed— 
Homeward Bound — Great Fire in New York — The Cook Tried — In 
Prison 121-174 

Chapter VI. 

Blackbirding — Barracoons — Isle of Pines — On a Slaver — Home, Sweet 

Home 175-182 



VI 1 



Chapter VII. 

Ship Rome — Weighing Pepper — " No Eat Pig" — Rajah of Pepperdom — 
St. Helena — Tomb of Napoleon — Fun Abroad — Gibraltar — Marseilles — 
Interpreter — Gibraltar — BiL' Waters — The Bo'son — Blue Beard 183-204 

Chapter VIII. 

Hamburg — Dance House — In the Lock-up — Singing Germans — Coenties Slip 

— Laprairie 207-214 

Chapter IX. 

Tuskar Light — Waterford — The Vespasian — The Galen Sinks — In the Azores 
— Antonio de Silva — Sarah and Abigail — Foraging — Man Overboard — 
Magnanimity ... 215-228 

Chapter X. 

Visitors — Sloop, Schooner or Ship — Explanations — An Offender — Assassina- 
tion — Leaving the Ewing — Chicago — Delaware — Welland Canal 229-240 

Chapter XI. 

Oswego — Canton — Hong Kong — Amoy — Typhoon — Pillar Dollars — Investi- 
gation — Gazelle — Pirates— Homesick — Thief on Board — Anjer— Indian 
Ocean — Fire Island — Captain Benson — India Shawls — Montreal 241-259 

Chapter XII. 

Walter R. Jones — Cape Cod — New London — Dangerous Drunk — New 
London — War With Mexico — At the Post-Office — An Episode — Hanged 
at the Yardarm — Alligators — Captain Moore — Captain Martin — New 
Orleans — Vera Cruz — Baton Rouge, La. — Captain Drummond — Captain 
Hunt — Chicken Thieves — New Orleans — " English Turn" — Night 
Visitors — Lobscouse — Bagdad — Various Names — Camargo — Jaspar — 
Tampico — Reform Habits — Sailors' Snug Harbor 261-298 

Chapter XIII. 

Mary Kingsland — The Angel of Death — The Ewing — In an Omnibus — 
Thank You, Miss — Whitewash — Mutiny — An Accident — John C. Brush- 
wood — Revenue Cutter — Gulf Stream — Doldrums — Cape Horn — Andes 
of Chili — Callao — Lima — Lobos Islands — Santa Barbara — La Purissima — 
Uncle Charles — Joe Benson — Agassiz — Hong Kong — Chinese Pilot — 
Macao — Madagascar — S. E. Trades — Equator — Captain Benjamin — East- 
ern Archipelago — Steamers and Pirates — Captain John Stivers and Mate — 
Civil Service — Chinese Food — Home Again — Burling Slip, New York. . .299-352 

Chapter XIV. 

Old Salts — Indians — In Captivity — California — San Francisco — New Crew — 
Jim Barney — Gospel Craft — Honolulu — Hong Kong — Canton— Jenny 
Lind — Improvements— My First Mate— My Brothers— King Alcohol — 
New Books — Home Ports — Drop Anchor 353-391 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Portrait of the Author, Frontispiece. 

In the Foretop ii 

At the Wheel 7 

Good-bye, Mr. Crapser 8 

Chinese Caricature 12 

Quebec, from Point Levis 15 

Loafing 17 

Young Davis 22 

Quebec, from the Ramparts 23 

Afloat 27 

Dick Stuart 31 

Under Way 35 

Bill Nye 37 

Home Thoughts opposite page 41 

Consultation 47 

Ship Yard, Sheerness 56 

In Dock, London 58 

Seeing London 59 

Chinese Bridge 60 

Old London Bridge 64 

Gin Palace 66 

In the Madeiras 73 

View of Bridgetown 75 

The Plantain 77 

Bermuda 79 

Jack Ashore 91 

Jack Tars on Land 92 

Sailor Boarding-house , 99 

Signing Articles 125 

Black-Ball Liner in Dock, New York 128 

The Old Brewery 131 

Bill Chapman in Hudson street 139 

Hong Kong 161 

Canton Belles , 163 

Chinese Bamboo Bridge 166 

Leaving the Bark Rapid 176 

Blackbirds Under Palms 178 

Bumboat 182 

A Geritulas 184 

Hindu Vessels at Analaboo 187 

Pig Loose on Deck 190 

Genoa 194 

Marseilles 196 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 1 

Bumboat 200 

St. Thomas 205 

Park, Havana, Cuba 206 

Hamburg 208 

Canal at Hamburg 209, 210 

Pico 222 

Sentinel 224 

J. W. Pettigrew 227 

Boston, Mass 228 

Sloop 231 

Erie, on Lake Erie 237 

Cabin, Canal Boat 240 

Chinese Barber Shop 243 

Chinese Lottery Office 24s 

Sunset opposite page 249 

Gazelle 250 

Chinese Junk 251 

Repelling Pirates .... 252 

Procession, Anjer 254 

Monkey Merchant 255 

Anjer Beauty 258 

Chinese Eating House 260 

Sloop 262 

New London 265 

Hurrah, Boys 268 

Mouth of the Mississippi 269 

Soto la Marina 271 

Village of Balize 274 

Balize Pilot 277 

Levee, New Orleans 279 

Baton Rouge, La 281 

Chicken Thief 284 

Custom Hoiise, New Orleans 285 

Florida Fruits 292 

Crescent City 294 

Sailors' Snug Harbor 296, 297 

Temple Bar, London 298 

New York from Brooklyn 309 

Old Dutch Tavern 311 

Rounding Cape Horn . . . . 314 

The Shell Vender 317 

Senora Donato Lozano 321 

Uncle Charles 327 

Whampoans 336 

Chinaman Flogged 338 

Chinese Jug. 340 

Fair Story Teller 341 

Arabian Dancing Girl 343 

Street Scene in Whampoa 345 

Captain John Stivers and Mate 347 

Oriental Beauties 350 



II ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Burling Slip, New York 352 

Luxury Ashore 357 

Panama 360 

Golden Gate, 1849 362 

San Francisco Bay, 1849 364 

Where Captain Cook was Killed 366 

Hindoo Cow and Calf 367 

Jim Barney Regaling the Fo'castle 368 

Chinese Rat Seller 371 

Boabab Tree 374 

Gathering Sugar Cane 376 

Chinese Amusement 377 

English Factories, Canton , -579 

Welcome to Canton 380 

Interior of Castle Garden, I851 381 

Castle Garden from the Water, 1851 383 

My First Mate 385 

In Port... 387 

Full-rigged Ship 392 

Names of Sails 393 

A Mexican 394 




IN THE FORETOP 



PREFACE. 



" Cease, rude Boreas, blustering sailor, 
List, ye landsmen, all to me ; 
Messmates, hear a brother sailor 
Tell the dangers of the sea," 

When, to the intense astonishment of my acquaintances, it was noised 
abroad that I had determined to write the history of my life at sea, I was 
overwhelmed with advices and suggestions, not only widely differing from 
one another, but utterly conflicting and irreconcilable. 

On one point, however, all my friends agreed ; that a preface was de 
rigueur, and that to write a book without a preface would be as absurd 
as to play " Hamlet " without Ophelia. 

Slowly and sadly I yielded a reluctant assent, and hence these few lines. 
Should my patrons pass them over unread, I shall be the last to blame 
them, for I believe that in most instances (I know it to be so in the present 
one) a preface is as superfluous and as useless as a " Sergeant of 
Marines." 

Of course, it is quite natural that writers of the calibre of Mr. Dickens 
should not deign to put pen to paper without claiming for their labors a 
higher motive than the design to gain wealth and reputation, or to furnish 
amusement for an idle hour. 

Like the mythical heroes of old, " Jack the Giant Killer " and " Don 
Quixote," their lance is ever poised to hurl the giant oppressor to earth, 
and right the wrongs of the afflicted and the fair. 

In such cases a preface may be useful, in order that the sedate and 
scrupulous reader may satisfy his conscience that he is not reading a mere 
novel, but a book replete with highly moral instruction and destined to 
effect a radical reformation of some real or fancied abuse. 

Now, in one respect, I am very much in the same predicament as the 
Knife Grinder immortalized by Canning ; " he had no story to tell, sir ; 
and I have no mission to pretend to." 

As now in the decline of life I sit, on this wintry night, in my com- 
fortable arm-chair, in a cozy corner near the cheerful fire, and see my 
children and my grandchildren grouped around me, and listen to the 
pelting rain or hail, and the furious winds as they strive to force an 



4 PREFACE. 

entrance within the hallowed precincts of our home, memory carries me 
back to the days of yore — days of hardships, privations, and peril, as 
well as of pleasant excitement, wild frolic, and heartfelt enjoyment. 

I am once more young, active, and daring, and am walking up and 
down the top-gallant forecastle, spinning yarns with Jack Mason or Bill 
Nye, or some other tried and trusty friend, whose bones, long ere this, 
lie bleaching in the depths of ocean or mouldering into dust afar from 
their childhood's home. 

The seas roll heavier and the gale comes down in sudden fury. "All 
hands reef topsails " is the word, and, springing from their hammocks, 
the crew lay aloft to their perilous post of duty ; methinks I still hear 
their voices amid the howling of the winds, " Light over, light over, 
light over, to windward," " Haul out to leeward." 

Far away from home, at anchor at the mouth of some African or Asi- 
atic river, or amid the Chinese junks at Whampoa, Shanghae, or Amoy, 
the flute and violin are brought into requisition, and the eye moistens 
and the bosom heaves as the seamen join in the plaintive lines : 

" The home we loved near the bounding deep, 

Where the hills in glory stood ; 
And the moss-grown graves where our fathers sleep, 

'Neath the shade of the waving wood. 
I remember yet with a fond regret 

The hills and the flowing lea, 
Amid the greenwood shades, where the wild birds made 

Their nests 'neath the old mountain tree." 

To invite the attention of the present generation to the hardships and 
perils inseparable from a life at sea, in days when seamanship was not a 
lost art ; to give landmen a faint idea of the dangers of those who go 
down to the sea in ships ; to recall to the surviving seamen of my own 
time the memories of former days ; and last, but not least, to afford 
myself the gratification, pardonable in an old man, of recounting the 
adventures of my youth : — such, and no other, is the object of these 
pages. 

GEORGE DAVIS, 

Paterson, N. J. 



\ 



INTRODUCTION. 



It is a strange fact that a love of the sea and proficiency in seaman- 
ship should have become a distinguished attribute of the people of the 
North. 

True it is that the Phoenicians, the Romans, and the Carthagenians, in 
ancient times, and the Genoese, the Venetians, the Spaniards, and the 
Portuguese in more recent days, have been noted for their exploits, and 
their zeal in pushing their discoveries to the ends of the then known 
world. 

Yet all this was done, not through a love of the sea, nor by seamen 
— properly so called — but rather through a greed for gold or thirst for 
conquest, and by means of expeditions composed rather of soldiers than 
of seamen. 

The vessels of those days were rude in construction, unwieldy in bulk, 
and intended rather for fighting than for sailing ; their crews were soldiers, 
or rather a sort of hybrid mariners, entirely innocent of the first rudi- 
ments of seamanship, and whom any ordinary seaman of our days would 
contemptuously style a set of ignorant swabs and cowardly land-lubbers. 

Feeling their way from headland to headland along the shores of the 
Mediterranean Sea, or creeping with trembling fear and superstitious awe 
a few leagues beyond the Pillars of Hercules, they trusted more to a 
white ash breeze during the day than to the spread of their canvas, and 
the skill of their officers and crews. Toward dusk they hastened to shelter 
themselves under the lee of some headland or in some land-locked bay, 
and all hands turned in to wait for broad daylight, and a soft and favor- 
ing breeze. Even when the inventions of the mariner's compass embold- 
ened a few of the more daring of their pompous admirals to venture out 
of sight of land, it was with fear and trembling on the part of the com- 
manders, and ill-concealed terror on the part of the crews, that they saw 
fading in the gloom the headlands of the land to which they bade, as 
they thought, an eternal adieu. 

Many and many a time did this superstitious fear culminate in frantic 
fright and open mutiny, frustrating many a bold design ; and whenever 



6 INTRODUCTION. 

a resolute commander succeeded in allaying their fears and suppressing 
their mutinous designs, it was rather by good luck than by good seaman- 
ship that they finally stumbled across some unknown land and made 
discoveries which they neither expected nor appreciated. 

Vasco de Gama never realized the vast empire discovered in India, and 
even the great Genoese died without being cognizant of the fact that his 
was the fame of having trodden the shores of a new world. 

But, long before the magnetic needle guided and encouraged the navi- 
gators of the South to plough the briny deep, long before they consented 
to lose sight of their beloved terra firma, the Vikings of the North, in 
their long ships of war, launched boldly forth upon the stormy waters of 
the North Sea, and carried fire and sword along its coasts from the north- 
eastern coast of Britain to the shores of Normandy in France, founding 
principalities, conquering kingdoms ; then, like Alexander, panting for 
other worlds to conquer, they steered forth into the wild Atlantic, and 
with stout hearts and strong arms propelled their deeply-laden galleys 
discovering Iceland, colonizing Greenland, and beaching their adventur- 
ous prows upon the shores of Narragansett Bay. They were true seaman, 
more at home upon the ocean than in their homes ; never so happy as 
when the tempest roared, the lightning flashed the arrowy hail, and the 
din of battle combined in dreadful unison. 

No wonder then, that, as the world went whirling down the circling 
grooves of change, the descendants of those famous sea-rovers should 
have developed that love of the stormy waters and that proficiency 
in seamanship born of affection and long practice. Such, in fact, has 
been the result. True it is that France, Spain, and Italy have good 
mercantile fleets ; they are not ignorant of the art of ship-building, and 
they are painfully awake to eveiy advance made in torpedoes, rams and 
Krupp guns ; but constant experience has shown, as in the naval engage- 
ments with the Armada, as well as at Trafalgar, at Cape Vincent, at La 
Hague, at Navarino, as well as at the Nile and Aboukir, and in scores 
of other engagements, that the seamen of Great Britain, and Holland, 
and of those countries adjacent and contiguous to the North and Baltic 
Seas, were an overmatch for the chosen tars of France and Spain. 

And now, in our own day, the noble clippers that breast the wild seas 
as they surge around the world at the " Horn," and the gigantic waves 
around the "Cape of Good Hope," are manned and officered almost 
exclusively by those whose native tongue bears witness that they are the 
descendants of the stormy Vikings of the days of Rollo, 'and Canute, or 
of Eric the Red. 

And when on the uneasy bosom of the Western Ocean the seaman 



INTRODUCTION. 7 

spies a superb creature, that walks the water like a thing of life, her 
magnificent hull looming high above the seas, her delicate spars gleaming 
through the upper air, and her spotless canvas yielding to the wooing of 
the amorous breeze, while her black funnels pour forth a torrent of 
smoke, and her great screws churn the water into spray, he fully expects, 
as he pauses in his work to see her pass by, that in answer to his cap- 
tain's signal the meteor flag of England, or the ever glorious Stars and 
Stripes, shall be flung to the breeze. 

The reader having patiently gone this far, may take breath and very 
reasonably say : Why this glorification of Northern nations ? 

Well, I shall answer as a sailor should, very candidly. It is because I 
am one of them by birth, training, long service, and affection ; have 
witnessed their skill, their courage in danger, and their uncomplaining 
fortitude amid the most trying hardships, and have in their company 
visited many a land, and sailed on almost every sea. 

Having said so much, I think it time to reveal my own identity and 
give my readers an idea of the trials and pleasures of a life on the bound- 
less Ocean. 

GEORGE DAVIS. 




AT THE WHEEL 



A SEA-WANDERER S LIFE. 



Chapter I. 

' A gallant bark got under weigh, 
And with her sails my story." 

Tom Hood. 

" A life on the ocean wave, 

A home on the rolling deep, 
Where the scattered waters rave 
And the winds their revels keep. 1 ' 



When Daniel DeFoe wrote that very pleasant story of 
"Robinson Crusoe," it is supposed that he intended to give 
young boys such a salutary warning of the hardships of a 
iife at sea that they would be contented to stay on shore ; 
but it is now well known that the book had a contrary effect, 
and that its perusal has sent many men aboard ship, fired 
with the desire of adventure upon the wide ocean. It was 
not that book that stirred my fancy, but the much finer, 
more soul-stirring one written by Charles Dibdin, from 
which I cull these lines, which exactly describe my boyish 
notion of the first ship I sailed in : 

" I sailed from the Downs in the Nancy. 

My jib ! how she smacked through the breeze. 
She's a vessel as light to my fancy 
As ever sailed o'er the salt seas." 

Dibdin wrote many a fine song which was sung both on 
shore and on board ship, and he is responsible for turning 
the head and heart of many a young lad towards the sea 
who, but for his rollicking songs, might have remained at 
home and passed a quiet life as a grocer, draper, tallow- 
chandler, or other occupation as useful, if not so full of 
romance and reality, as that of the jolly jack tar. Moreover, 



IO DIBDIN S SONGS. 

he who stays on land has the additional chance of ripen- 
ing off into a staid and respectable member of society, who 
may perhaps secure a sort of immortality by founding a 
hospital or a school; and, dying at a venerable age, leave an 
inconsolable widow and a numerous offspring to bewail his 
loss and divide his estate — or at least so much of it as the 
lawyers cannot agree to share among themselves. 

How very different is the sailor's lot. He deserts home, 
loved ones, friends and neighbors, ventures on the treacher- 
ous deep, is stowed away at night in a dingy hammock in 
a damp and moldy fo'castle, fed on " salt horse," drinks 
water thick with living things, and odorous but not pleasant, 
and is driven like a galley-slave day and night by men 
whose very nature, in many cases, is brutal in the extreme ; 
and after a life-time of the severest trials and suffering 
his resting-place is in the salt, salt sea. Or if he escapes, he 
may be favored by a berth in some " Sailor's Snug Harbor," 
where everybody is favored and petted except Jack Tar. 

The history of my life, which is here given in veritable 
extracts from the log book of my memory, will show how 
and why I have not brought up alongside of any " Snug 
Harbor," so called, as yet, although my actual harbor is 
snug and well secured against evil winds, as sung by the 
English poet Alaric A. Watts. 

" What care I for the sullen roar 

Of winds without, that ravage earth ; 
It doth but bid me prize the more 

The shelter of my hallowed hearth : — 
To thoughts of quiet bliss give birth. 

Then let the churlish tempest chide, 
It cannot check the blameless mirth 

That glads my own fireside ! " 

Loving the delights of home on shore, I naturally feel a 
strong aversion to those ballad writers who, sitting at home 
in their easy-chairs, encourage others to dare the dangers of 
the deep, luring thousands of young men away from home 
and all its joys and educational advantages, and plunging 
them helpless into a life of hardship and peril. I am 



SPINNING A YARN. II 

convinced that the most of those writers of sea-songs and 
sea-stories do the work for money merely — it is their occu- 
pation ; that is, they trade in youthful credulity, and love 
of romance and adventure, without any regard to human 
sympathy, or even respect for the ties of humanity. 

Now, since I have rattled off a few lines by way of clear- 
ing the decks, or freeing my mind, we might as well lay to 
and spin a yarn. As this is to be my autobiography — what- 
ever that big word is — written by myself, I shall naturally be 
excused for speaking of myself on all proper occasions, 
which I shall proceed to do without further apology. So 
here goes : — 

My father — of course you will expect to hear something 
about him. He had no long pedigree to bother about, nor a 
fortune to keep him awake nights, so he was apprenticed 
early to a furrier in London, England. He was a native of 
Silesia, formerly a part of Poland, before that country was 
divided between the Cossack and the German, and his father 
was also a furrier. So he inherited a fitness for the business 
which pushed him along rapidly — so fast that, like the " star 
of empire," he took his way westward and touched shore in 
Philadelphia, in 1796. 

The fame of John Jacob Astor dazzled him, and he sought 
the presence of that shrewd merchant, who applied to him 
all the tests that were usual in such cases, and then engaged 
my father to teach him the secret of dying sealskins in the 
English manner, paying him a thousand guineas for that 
information. 

With this capital in cash he went to Montreal, Canada, 
where he began business in furs for himself. As might be 
expected, and as my readers must suppose, a young man 
with a thousand guineas and a prospect of a good business, 
being a fine prize for some young maid, my father was 
captured. I never knew exactly how it happened, but have 
every reason to believe that it was an old-fashioned match, 



12 



SPINNING A YARN. 



such as Giles Fletcher sang about two hundred and fifty 
years ago: 

" Love the strqng and weak doth yoke, 
And makes the ivy climb the oak ; 
Under whose shadows lions wild, 
Softened by love, grow tame and mild." 

Captured and married in 1818. 

There is not much more to say about my father, and what 
there is, as you will see, is not very consoling to me as his 
son and heir. I was honored with a first appearance as his 
son in the morning of June 17, 1821; but the honor of 




CHINESE CARICATURE OF A SAILOR "SPINNING YARNS. 



inheriting any of his wealth was denied me, perhaps for the 
best of reasons — so that I might make headway for myself on 
the sea of life. 

Just exactly why the 17th of June was selected for my 
first appearance on deck is not so clear. I have con- 
sulted all sorts of almanacs, farmer's and nautical; inquired 
of " the only reliable and highly gifted astrologers," had my 
horoscope constructed several times by the most learned 
adepts in occult knowledge, but all in vain. Nor does 
history afford any light on the question. There is no record 



SPINNING A YARN. 13 

of earthquakes, meteors, comets, tidal waves, or even a 
decent-sized epidemic of that time, which might have 
heralded the advent of a stranger in the house of Davis, 
who was soon named George. 

There, the craft is launched, but not yet rigged and pro- 
visioned for a voyage. We will now attend to that part of 
the log. 

My father felt the anxiety of a fond parent for the welfare 
of his son and therefore extended his business connections 
until he virtually monopolized the fur trade of Canada, 
when he began, in 1828, to invest in real estate and in build- 
ing houses. The disturbances caused by the rebellion in 
1837-38 in Canada so upset all sorts of business that the 
fur trade was totally used up and a dead loss, and real estate 
ventures sunk clean out of sight. It was a total wreck so 
far as my father was concerned. He left Canada for the 
States, came to New York in 1830, and found employment 
at his trade as a finisher of fine furs, and I went into a 
grocery store as a clerk. 

The fascinating game of billiards drew me away from 
cheese and sugar, and I was employed in the saloon at 28 
Park Row, next to the old Park Theatre. It was there that 
I met Mr. Crapser, who was the cause, indirectly, of my first 
venture on the briny deep. He was a large land-owner in 
St. Lawrence County, this State, and had been a neighbor of 
my father's in Montreal. He was also a shipper of large 
quantities of square timber to England, and in the course of 
trade knew many ship-masters. With my father's consent I 
returned to Quebec in the employ of Mr. Crapser, and 
through his kindness had many hours to myself, which were 
spent in lounging about the lower town, among the quays 
and the ships, occasionally taking a trip to the Falls of 
Montmorency, the Isle of Orleans, or other ones among the 
many pleasant resorts about Quebec. All this time my 
mind was absorbing ideas, notions, and fancies about the sea, 



14 CARROLL RYAN. 

the glorious life of a sailor, the rosy side of which was all 
that I could see then. The thorny side appeared to me in 
sad reality as the years wore on. Carroll Ryan, a Canadian 
poet, has written much that touches my feelings, and con- 
vinces me that he has had experience away from home and 
friends as well as I. He writes : — 

" Come, I will tell a tale to thee 
Of one — a lovely youth, 
Who sought o'er land and over sea 

For peace, and love, and truth; 
But never could the seeker find 
Aught like the form that filled his mind." 

But as traveling is beneficial to the traveler, in addition 
to former preparations I studied geography earnestly, early 
and late, as I could find time, and became familiar with the 
maps of many countries, wondering at and trying to master 
the queer-looking names. The office globe was nearly worn 
out by my frequent turnings. I often wondered, if the earth 
itself was really round like the office globe, how was it pos- 
sible for ships to sail safely around on the opposite side. 
Many years passed before I was able to feel and know that 
I was on the surface of the great globe of the earth, and 
that it appeared of the same level in all places, except only 
when on or near high mountain-tops. 

Many times have I spied with great interest the white can- 
vas of some vessel while rounding the point of the Isle of 
Orleans, and watched it until it should "come to" and furl 
sails abreast of the citadel on Cape Diamond, lower its gig, 
manned by bronzed seamen, who made the spray fly from 
their oar blades as they brought their captain ashore. How 
I gazed with awe at all — captain and sailors — who had 
brought from remote lands spices, silks, perfumes, and 
strange-looking fruits. 

I am quite sure that my senses were captivated one by 
one by the various belongings of the vessels that I visited. 
The smell of tarred rigging, the tropical fruits; the noises 
made by the huge chains, hawsers, creaking yards ; the 



l6 OUT OF ONE KID. 

shouting and singing of the sailors ; even the swearing of 
the ruffianly mates and master stevedores did not seem very 
awful, but on the whole somewhat fascinating. To be sure, 
some of the more violent swearers actually made the cold 
chills run down my back, and caused me to wonder why 
such terrible words were needed; but time wore off such 
sensitiveness, and I grew familiar with a vast catalogue of 
oaths in many languages, which were poured out from habit 
rather than in rage. Oaths in a sailor's mouth are simply 
salt, spice, seasoning, or, as the writers say, italics, small 
caps, and exclamation points, necessary to give piquancy and 
force to the discourse. 

I usually embraced every opportunity to talk with any 
grizzled veteran of the sea whose kindly nature bore with 
my inquisitive habits, for I was hungry and thirsty after 
knowledge of the sea and its surroundings. How delightful 
those days were ! In some respects the happiest of my life. 
All was fairy-land to me in the future, and I was to be the 
prince, the favorite of the powers of good, and even the 
stories of Sindbad the Sailor, which I read with infinite enjoy- 
ment, seemed merely prophetic of what I should enjoy when 
once I should become a sailor. The most attractive of all 
the old salts were those who were grizzled with age, bronzed 
with tropical suns, and strengthened by battling with the 
storm-kings of the Bay of Biscay, Cape Horn, and a hundred 
other regions. I was often invited to come aboard and see 
all the sailors eat out of one kid without biting one another. 

On such occasions the coarse repast would be seasoned 
with broad jokes, keen witticisms, jolly songs, and sometimes 
by a hornpipe, and the hours would glide unnoticed by until 
the watch sounded eight bells. Then I reluctantly went 
home to dream of top-sails and reef-tackle, bowlines and 
clew-lines, with a faint flavor of the reported beauties of 
Fayal and the girls of Spain. 

So my readers will see that I naturally became entranced 



DOCK LOAFING. 



17 



with the bright side of a sailor's life as it appeared to me, in 
the persons of certain seamen, officers, and men who went 
and came at regular intervals, as the duties of the service 
required. The other side, including the hardships and trials, 




sufferings and dangers, if they were mentioned at all, took 
such a romantic shape in my mind that they seemed unreal 
and so lost their proper effect. The pleasures of a sailor's 
life were my hopes and aspirations, the rest I did not fear — 



l8 DOCK LOAFING. 

how could I fear what I knew not ? Personal experience 
alone can teach those lessons which are, after all, the essen- 
tial elements in character, and of that I had my share, as 
will appear before my line is run out. 

But as I intend to present as complete a picture, in as few 
words as possible, of the influences that induced me to go 
to sea, I must again refer to the log of my early life while 
with Mr. Crapser at Quebec. His business was chiefly ship- 
ping square timber to Europe, and while the vessels were 
discharging cargoes and loading timber, the sailors would 
have many an hour ashore, when they would make the streets 
echo with their merriment, boisterous but harmless, and the 
saloons charming resorts for those who loved, as I did, to 
hear their stories of adventures in far-off lands. I remem- 
ber many times in which I followed such frolicking parties 
through the streets on moonlight nights to the vessel's side, 
sometimes going on board and continuing the fun in the 
fo'castle, or on deck, near the fore-rigging, until reminded 
by the watch that it was time for land-lubbers to make 
scarce. Parting from such pleasant companions was often 
painful when duty called them seaward, and at such times I 
watched their ships move away as if reluctant to leave me 
behind; for I longed to go, and I looked and looked until 
the last spar and sail disappeared beyond Cape Diamond, 
or Point Levis, or were lost behind the groves of the woody 
Isle of Orleans. 

My fancy followed them far away into the tropics, where 
the air is heavy with perfumes, and the shores peopled with 
dark-skinned and almond-eyed beauties, who welcome the 
sailor with smiles through which white teeth like set pearls 
gleam and bewilder the visitor. The poet aptly voices my 
feelings at that time : 

" Like an eagle caged I pine 

On this dull unchanging shore ; 
Oh, give me the flashing brine, 
The storm and the tempest s roar ! " 



DOCK LOAFING. 1 9 

I was then in the most important years of my youth, when 
a father's counsel and example would have been of the great- 
est value to me; but my father was far away, and Mr. Crapser 
was too much absorbed in his business to pay much heed to 
me. So I drifted out to sea because there was no anchor or 
other strong attractions at home. As the poet Longfellow 
says : — 

" Something the heart must have to cherish, 
Must love, and joy, and sorrow learn ; 
Something with passion clasp, or perish 
And in itself to ashes burn. ' 

In short, my heart was set on a ship instead of a maid at 
that time, although it is a popular notion that every sailor 
boy has his sweetheart and every sailor man his maid in 
every port. That saying is merely a popular scandal. The 
true sailor, boy or man, is as true to his sweetheart or wife as 
the needle to the pole ; and both are noticed to vary a few 
points, as evidence of which may be seen on all good maps, 
marked as variations of the compass. 

So I resolved to " see the world." What an ecstatic 
moment that was ! I thought of nothing else but the joy of 
being a sailor boy among jovial companions, skimming the 
blue wave from port to port, seeing the famous countries 
that I had heard of, and a thousand other thoughts, rushing 
in wild confusion through my brain, made me in reality 
drunk with youthful spirits. 

The arrival of the first craft from England, after the break- 
ing up of the ice in the spring, was to be my signal for the 
first effort at shipping myself in any line for any service. 
If no place was open for me in the cabin or before the mast, 
I resolved to go as a " stowaway." You see I felt desperate. 

One fine afternoon in the latter part of the month of April, 
1 83 1, as I sat musing on the wharf, and as the poet Cowper 
sings : — 

****** with eager eye 
Exploring far and wide the watery waste, 
For sight of ship from England, * *" 



20 DOCK LOAFING. 

I was roused from my reverie by a deep voice beside me say- 
ing, " There she comes! Ain't she a beauty! I tell you old 
Knight is the skipper to make her walk. He's kept his word 
too, for I heard her consignees say that Knight swore that 
his ship should be the first of the spring fleet to round to 
under the guns of Cape Diamond." Then I was alive all 
over with pleasurable excitement. There was my ideal of a 
vessel clearing the icy waters of the St. Lawrence, her jet 
black hull finely contrasted with the white ports, every yard 
of canvas stretched in the bright morning sunlight. 

The speaker was my ideal of a British seaman — stout, 
athletic, well-rounded in form and feature, and with a 
healthy glow in his countenance. His dress indicated his 
prosperity, for it was of deep blue pilot cloth, cut in the 
style so loved by sailors, pants close-fitting at the hips, and 
wide and flowing at the ankles, with a short sack coat close- 
fitting also. His cap was blue, and shoes well made and 
polished up brightly. His beard was a deep chestnut brown, 
close trimmed. His general look was of self-reliance and 
well-to-do officer in power. It was with some diffidence that 
I ventured to inquire of him the name of the incoming 
ship. 

"Why, my lad," said he, "that is the General Hewitt, 
of and from London to Quebec for orders. How do you 
know she is a ship ? She may be a bark, mayn't she ?" 

" Oh no, sir," said I, proud of showing my knowledge. 
"A bark would not be square-rigged on the mizzen mast. 
That vessel has yards crossed fore and aft." 

" What yards, my boy ?" asked he, turning his keen eyes 
on me with a look of kindly amusement. 

" Why, sir, the lower top sail, top-gallant, and royal yards. 
— Ah, there they go," shouted I, forgetting myself for a 
moment. " They are hauling down the head sails, and haul- 
ing up the courses, and clewing up the royals, to'-gallant 
sails, and top sails. Now see how quickly the men go up 



GENERAL HEWITT. 21 

aloft ! What a splendid ship, and what a fine crew she must 
have !" 

" Why, my boy, you are quite a tarry old salt," said my 
nautical friend. " Where did you learn so much about 
.ships ?" 

" Right here on the wharf, in this harbor, sir," said I. " I 
have been aboard many vessels and know some of the men." 

" What do you do when you are not studying sea-craft?" 

' I am in the employ of Mr. Crapser in the Upper Town." 

"Crapser," said he, as he nodded knowingly to his com- 
panion. " Well, my boy, you seem to know something about 
ships, and have quite a fancy for the General Hewitt. 
Would you like to go aboard of her ?" 

Would a duck swim, thought I, but I said, " Oh yes, sir, 
I shall try it with the first boat that comes ashore." 

" You won't have long to wait for that, youngster, for the 
ship is coming to, and they are dropping the captain's gig. 
But mind you, young man — by the way, what's your name ?" 

" George Davis, sir." 

" Well, Davis, don't try to take French leave of Mr. Crap- 
ser and stow away on board of the General Hewitt, for she 
sails again in a week or two, and you might be sorry for 
leaving home. Good day." And he walked away with his 
friend, he wearing a quizzical smile, and both laughing 
heartily. 

Their merriment did not affect me, although I have 
learned since that it was at my expense, for I was too full of 
the ship and a desire to get on board to notice anything 
else, and just then the captain's gig came gliding up to the 
dock, with the captain, in his best suit, in the stern sheets. 
I expected to see the boat crash into the planks of the dock, 
but the crew knew their work too well, and the sharp imper- 
ative tones of the order " in bow" and " way enough" gave 
them directions when they checked the headway by backing 
the oars and bringing the boat gracefully up to the dock. 



22 GENERAL HEWITT. 

The oars were tossed together in the centre of the boat, and 
the bowman stood ready with his boat-hook to fend off and 
leap ashore with the painter. The next moment the craft 
was alongside with stern close in and the captain stepped 
ashore. 




YOUNG DAVIS. 



As he stood beside me I took in his rig. He was fault- 
lessly dressed in a new civilian's attire of black cloth, tall 
beaver hat, calfskin boots, standing collar, diamond shirt 
studs, and massive gold fob chain — a contrast in dress to 
my nautical friend who left a few moments before, but like 
him in clear cut, bronzed features, and bright piercing eye. 

" Here, Mason," he called to the stroke oarsman, " treat 



24 GENERAL HEWITT. 

the boat's crew," arid he tossed him a half sovereign to do 
it with. " See that they don't drink too deep. Wait here 
for the fresh meat and vegetables, and then pull aboard and 
report to Mr. Murray. Tell him to send a boat for me in 
the morning, and make ready for heaving up." 

"Aye, aye, sir," said Mason, as the captain strode away 
with immense mien and dignity. 

I knew Mason, and as soon as the captain was away I 
leaped down the landing stairs, and was immediately recog- 
nized by him. " Hello, youngster ! So you have not yet 
gone to sea, eh ?' 

"No, Mr. Mason, but I expect to go very soon." 

" Well, lad, we are going up Champlain street to splice the 
main brace. You stay here as boat-keeper till we heave in 
sight again, will you ?" 

" Certainly," said I, delighted with the honor conferred on 
me. Never was boat better tended. How carefully I kept 
her bow from chafing the string-piece, how neatly I arranged 
the oars, bailed and sponged her dry, wiping the gunwale 
and thwarts; and, although the crew were away a long time, 
I was not weary, for my heart was in the work. I felt that 
it was my first lesson in actual work as a sailor, for I was a 
sailor already in spirit. 

The crew returned in a hilarious condition, and Mason 
seemed to read my thoughts, for he said, " Hello, George, 
you've been swabbing down. Jump in and stow yourself 
away under the meat and vegetables under the bow grating, 
and we'll show you a ship as is no ' Drogher,' and can show 
as clean a pair of heels as any square-rigger out of London, 
any how, if she is a wet B e. What do you say, mates ?" 

"Aye, aye, that's so, Bill," they all agreed, and added, "and 
a bully crew aboard, with a rousing captain, even if he does 
look more like a chaplain than the jolly sea-dog that he is." 

There was some delay in getting ready to cast off, when 
one of the crew said : 



GENERAL HEWITT. 25 

" Bill, is this the youngster you used to talk about when 
we were outward bound in the brig Triton ?" 

"The very same young man." 

" Werry well, young lad," said the seaman, whose name 
was Bill Nye, "if ye feel sick a hankerin' for seein' the 
world, as ye call it, ye will never have sich a chance as 
aboard the General Hewitt, for as ye know the old song 
says : — 

1 A British ship and a British crew, 
Tally-hi-ho, you know. 
A British mate and captain too, 
Tally-hi-ho, you know.' " 

This he roared out lustily, and the others joined in the 
refrain. So pulling and singing, and I crouching among 
the provisions, we were soon close alongside the ship and 
made fast by the painter. The crew shinned up the fore- 
chains like monkeys, but I could not follow them. My arms 
were not toughened and corded as theirs were then, and 
mine were afterwards, so I had to wait until the boat was 
made fast at the foot of the gangway, when I climbed up 
by aid of the man-ropes. I thought my appearance was 
not observed by the officer on deck, but probably he was 
prompted by Mason or Bill Nye to turn his blind eye towards 
me, and so give me a chance. Anyhow, I hurried to the 
forecastle and was heartily welcomed by the crew, who had 
been informed of my coming by Mason. As it was towards 
sunset, I was invited to stay all night, which was accepted; 
for I thought I could go ashore in Mr. Murray's boat in the 
morning, if I wished. 

That first night aboard ship was destined to be the begin- 
ning of many a long year's sojourn on the bosom of " Old 
Father Neptune." My eyes and ears were open, and taking 
in information on every occurrence. Every sound told me 
something, and I soon became so absorbed in the new sur- 
roundings that all thoughts of Mr. Crapser and the shore 
were laid aside. Instead of them my mind was filled with 



26 ELIZA COOK. 

snatches of poetry in praise of a life on the sea, such as 
that in Eliza Cook's " Song of the Mariners." 

" Choose ye who will earth's dazzling bowers, 
But the great and glorious sea be ours ; 
Give us, give us the dolphin's home, 
With the speeding keel and splashing foam. 

Right merry are we as the sound bark springs 
On her lonely track like a creature of wings. 
Oh, the mariner's life is blithe and gay, 
When the sky is fair and the ship on her way." 

And that other verse of hers which hit my case exactly: — 

" And many a time the sturdy boy 
Longed for the hour to come 
Which gave the hammock for his couch, 
The ocean for his home !" 

I was afloat at last. The several and many incidents that 
occurred in rapid succession that first evening on board 
made a deep impression on my memory, and I have often 
recalled them since then, and will now repeat a few of them 
for the benefit of my readers, who may, in imagination, 
suppose themselves on board as I was, happy in a new place, 
with glorious anticipations, youth, health, and friends, all 
conspiring for my happiness. 

When night came on the anchor watch was set and the 
lights were swung from the fore-stay and both fore-swifters, 
and the spanker-gaff end. Then all hands except the 
watch were free to spend the night as they might wish. 
Mason, a half dozen others, and myself lounged on the top- 
gallant forecastle, near the heel of the bowsprit. That was 
a glorious night, with a bright moon, thin clouds, gentle 
breezes, and calm waters, reflecting the shores with their 
many lights, the moon and stars, and bearing many a craft, 
not one of which could compare, as I felt, with the General 
Hewitt. Across the water was Wolfe's Cove,, and the river 
could be seen dimly far beyond Point Levis and the Upper 
Town; the Lower Town and its confused noises were nearer, 
but only dimly visible. The sounds of merriment at inter- 
vals came across the water from some other vessel, lying 



MASON. 27 

near ours, where other crews were enjoying themselves. 
This doubled our pleasure, and added to this was the feeling 
of security which came to us with the hourly cry of the 
sentinel on the fort at the Cape, "All's well." 

Soon after four bells (ten o'clock) we went below, and 
Mason showed me to my hammock. In a moment I was 
undressed and into the swinging bed, but not to sleep. The 
strange appearance of the fo'castle in the dim light of a 




afloat. 

single oil lamp, swinging amidships, and the all-pervading 
odor of tar and bilge-water, with many other strange sights 
and sounds, and above all my lively fancy, kept me awake 
until five, six, and seven bells struck. Soon after I saw a 
burly figure enter the fo'castle, and going to one of the ham- 
mocks say in a gruff whisper, "Eight bells, Mason; turn out." 

"Aye, aye," was the answer, and in a moment Mason fully 
dressed came to my hammock and said, " Hello, my lad ; not 
asleep yet ? Well, if you can't sleep you might as well turn 
out and stand your first watch with me. Come, bear a 
hand." And he climbed the narrow steep stairs to the deck. 

I hurried on my clothes and followed, just as the sailor 
who had been relieved and turned into his hammock began 
to snore as if it was a part of his duty. 



28 MASON. 

On deck all was still. The moon had not yet set, and its 
white light illuminated the deck with its silvery radiance. 
My friend Mason, pacing the top-gallant fo'castle, seemed 
like a ghostly keeper of an enchanted ship. I approached 
him with hesitation, when he called out : 

" Well, youngster, how do you like turning out at midnight? 
Better staid ashore and have your sleep, and all night in. 
How are you going to work to-morrow without rest ? " 

" I don't intend to work to-morrow," said I. 

" Eh, what, what's that you say ?" said he. 

" Just that. I am going to sea with you if I can manage 
it." 

"Whew," said he, and he blew a long whistle; " here's a 
rum go! How do you know that the old man will ship you, 
for we are full-handed now. But hold on, you may perhaps 
ship as cabin-boy. How would you like that berth ?" 

" I had rather ship before the mast," said I, " and you 
must help me to do so, even if you have to help me to stow 
away." 

" Well, well, well. We'll see, my lad, what can be done. 
I'll talk with my shipmates and may be you'll have a chance 
to see blue water before long. So belay that and spin me a 
yarn all about yourself and how you came to want to go a 
sailorizing." 

My brief story was soon told; he listened most attentively 
to it until finished, when he told his own. 

Left an orphan in London at the age of ten years, he 
picked up a precarious existence in the streets until good 
fortune shipped him on a north country collier. Several 
years were passed in the coasting trade, in which he visited 
nearly every port of England and Scotland, with occasional 
visits to Holland and France, and then on long voyages 
around the Cape of Good Hope and the Horn in the China 
trade. When married he settled down into the Canada 
lumber trade in summer and the Mediterranean in winter, 



STOWAWAY. 29 

because they afforded him an opportunity of seeing his 
family in London frequently. After warning me of the 
hardships and dangers of a life at sea, he promised that, if I 
was determined to go, he would try and get the consent of 
his shipmates to stow me away until the ship was off sound- 
ings on her course for London. 

At four bells Mason called his relief from the fo'castle 
and told me to turn in for a nap. The watch, roused from 
a sound sleep, turned out growling and muttering, and came 
on deck sullenly. 

Mason did not turn in, but I heard his voice in earnest 
tones advocating my cause in the fo'castle. He was often 
interrupted by grunts of disapproval, and seemed to have a 
hard task in bringing them around to his way of thinking. 
When he did succeed they all three indulged in loud laughter, 
and probably I was the subject of their merriment. I felt so, 
but was content to be laughed at, or to bear anything, rather 
than be put ashore. Very soon Mason came close to my 
hammock and said, "All's right, my lad. Bell and Steve are 
agreed. Go to sleep now and I will arrange things in the 
morning watch. Don't you stir out of your hammock unless 
one of us calls you. I'll tell the rest of the men, and I'll be 
bound not one of 'em will split the gaff on a friend of mine. 
But you must look out for the after guard." 

If I had been told that I had fallen heir to ten thousand 
a year I could not have felt happier. Sleep stole over me in 
a few moments and I dreamed of sun-lit skies, and seas, and 
tropic islands, where I was the monarch of the quarter-deck 
of a noble ship of the line, whose gallant crew had been vic- 
tors in many a hard-fought conflict, and who stood ready to 
brave every danger at the word of their young commander. 
Relieved as I was from all anxiety, my sleep was sound, and 
broad daylight found me still slumbering. The clatter of 
breakfast among the sailors in the fo'castle waked me, but 
remembering Mason's injunction, I lay quiet, resisting the 



3© STOWAWAY. 

craving of a sharp, appetite. When the simple meal was 
over and the inevitable pipe lighted, Mason began by saying: 

" Now then, my mates, we're going to have a new hand 
aboard." 

" What's that you say ?" inquired a grizzly sea-dog of 
about fifty years, whose name I learned afterwards to be 
Dick Stuart. " A new hand aboard, man ? The ship's 
company is full already." 

"Well " said Mason, laughing, " I don't know as how the 
new hand will make it much fuller. He's only a kid about 
ten or twelve years old." 

"Only a kid of ten or twelve years," growled Stuart; 
" what the h — 1 is he going to do aboard of us ?" 

" Going to stow away," said Mason. " Now, mates," con- 
tinued he, " this here boy has been a wanting to go to sea 
for a long time. He's got no father nor mother here in 
Canada, and he's working for Crapser, and he doesn't want 
to work for him any more, and wants to ship in the Genera/ 
Hewitt and see a little of the world." 

" He's more likely to see the inside of a jail, the young 
cub," growled Stuart, "as I take it, for he wants to run 
away from his master. What's he going to do here ? The 
old man won't ship him." 

"Right you are, old shipmate," said Bob Inglis; "old 
Knight will send him back kiting to Crapser and make him 
acquainted with a rope's end before he goes over the side." 

" Captain Knight shan't see him till long enough after the 
anchor's catted, topsails sheeted home, and mast headed," 
answered Mason. " I'll stow him away, and once down the 
river will bring him aft and show him to the captain. He'll 
make a smart cabin boy. Now, mates, I want you to stand 
by me and give the lad a chance." 

" Nevaire, nevaire, Jack Mason," said the French cook, 
" we vant no boy, no sare; ze boys is von trouble aboard ze 
sheep." 




DICK STUART. 



32 FRENCHY. 

" Who the h — 1 asked you to shove your oar in, Doctor," 
roared Bill Nye; "wait till your betters have spoken. If the 
boy wants to go to sea, who's agoing to stop him. If he 
wants to run away in this here ship he's only adoing like 
most of us have done, and I'll stand by him." Here Bill 
pounded the lid of his chest with his enormous fist, and 
continued, " I'll stand by him, and the man that plays the 
' white mouse ' on him will have to square yards with Bill 
Nye." 

"Aye, and with us too," chimed in the deep voices of Jim 
Brown and Steve Allen, " Hallo there," shouted Mason, 
" turn out here and show yourself, you young rascal." 

I was before them, dressed in a moment, timidly waiting 
for a word from my judges. Something in my demeanor 
appealed for me, and I found favor with them, but still had 
to listen meekly to a good-natured scolding from Stuart, and 
a long lecture on the dreadful consequences which would 
probably follow such a headstrong course as mine. Then 
the crew resolved itself into a committee of the whole, to 
decide what steps were necessary to secrete me until it was 
safe for me to make my appearance. 

It was agreed that for the present I should remain in the 
forecastle during the day; that all hands would keep a 
lookout for breakers, in case any of the inmates of the cabin 
should show a desire to visit my hiding-place; but that at 
night I might go on deck, but must keep well out of sight. 

Having so settled it, all the crew from that time showed 
me every kindness. Dick Stuart considered me a special 
subject for his fatherly advice, and even the cook Frenchy 
(nautice, the doctor) took special pains to bring me some 
tid-bits from the galley. 

" You von grand idiot, von gros fou. Mon gars, den 
you vant make you von sailare. Ah ! mille tonneres, if vas not 
for dat big pig, ze Bill Nye, and dose beasts, Steve Allen 
et Jim Brown, I would ver soon see you on de shore, a 



AFLOAT. S3 

terre. Mais, mange done, mange done, gamin que tu es." 
His kindly nature led him, although he thought me an 
idiot, to invite me to eat, and he supplied me with the best 
the galley afforded, which he urged me to swallow in quan- 
tity enough to spoil the digestion of a rhinoceros. 

Ten long days in that forecastle were the longest I ever 
saw before or since. The labor of discharging cargo kept 
the men busy all day, and they were too tired at night to 
pay much attention to me, but were more inclined to bad 
humor than saying anything to smooth the way for a young 
aspirant for nautical honors. 

As all mortal things must have an end, the cargo was dis- 
charged, the ship cleaned up and made ready for a new 
cargo, which then appeared in large rafts from the Ottawa 
river, the St. Lawrence, or the " Sault au Recollet." They 
were soon moored alongside and rapidly hoisted and stowed 
aboard. When all this was over, and the vessT ready for 
sailing orders, the crew assumed a more genial aspect; their 
brows unbent and mouths once more wreathed in smiles, 
looking more like the jolly tars of my youthful fancy. This 
change was favorable to me, and those who had most loudly 
opposed my going to sea now were most ready to sing the 
glories of a seaman's life. 

The orders came in due course of time to get under way 
for London, and soon the clank, clank, of the cable told of 
the capstan's work in lifting the heavy anchor from its oozy 
bed. I felt thankful that I would soon be at sea and all 
fears of being set ashore gone. Come what will, I should 
soon see what a sailor's life is, and be able on my return to 
tell the other boys about the strange things to be seen in 
the " old country." I had been specially cautioned to keep 
shady, and while the great excitement caused by those who 
were busy in weighing anchor was going on I remained close 
below. Of pilots and officers there seemed to be no end, so 
many were to be seen and heard in every part of the ship. 



34 FO CASTLE. 

The singing of the men as they pulled altogether was music 
to my ears, for it meant freedom for me, and the hurry and 
confusion on deck seemed especially designed for my 
benefit. But it was a fearful din at times. The dropping 
of a heavy coil of rope, the falling of the great iron cable 
from the capstan, the rushing feet of the many sailors, alto- 
gether suggested an awful expression that I had often heard, 
" that hell was let loose." So I lay snug in my hammock, 
not daring to put my nose out of the forecastle — terrified lest 
at any moment one of the officers should happen, for some 
reason or another, to look into my hammock and find what 
he would consider one of the watch on deck asleep or 
" skulking." 

We were soon under way, and in an hour or two I felt 
a new sensation, which was anything but pleasant. I became 
conscious that terra firma had slipped out from under me, 
and that the ship was not the most steady article I knew of. 
One moment my head bumped this side, then that, then the 
hammock swung endwise, and I felt that something must 
soon give way, and that my ribs, of course, would go first, 
when suddenly I tumbled out of the hammock upon a chest 
and fell to the deck. About that time my stomach began 
to rebel, and joined the ship in rising and falling in unison 
not at all comforting to me. It seemed as if the St. Law- 
rence had been turned into my interior and my sole object 
in life was to eject it, and I proceeded to do what I could 
in that line of duty. My performance was very energetic 
if it was not heroic, and it was increased by the rolling, 
pitching and tossing of the vessel, and intensified by the 
horrible stench from the ship's hold. And then the order- 
ing, shouting, stamping, and, I am ashamed to admit it, the 
cursing and swearing on deck increased, as it seemed to me, 
out of all proportion to the cause. The rough waters of 
the St. Lawrence have a worse effect on a youngster than 
the waves of the ocean, and besides it was my first voyage. 



FO'CASTLE. 



35 



I am not able even now to describe my sensations at that 
time, although my memory holds fast to every item in the 
disagreeable catalogue. I was utterly used up, sick, limp 
helpless, hopeless, despairing, and even thought death would 
be a relief In this mood I began to wonder if it was a 




UNDER WAY. 



$6 TURNED OUT. 

mistake in going to sea, and doubted the wisdom of the 
choice; but while thinking it over tired nature yielded and 
sleep, although uneasy, was welcome. 

Only a short time was allowed for my rest when I was 
aroused by smothered laughter, and on looking over the 
side of my hammock saw Frenchy the doctor and Dick 
Stuart fairly doubled up with merriment on one of the 
chests. Frenchy caught my eye and nudged Dick to call 
his attention to the fact that I was wide awake. 

" Veil, mon gars, have you enough sleep ? You vant go 
aboard sheep, to noting do, is it not ? Nom d'un nom, I go 
right avay on deck and de capitaine come vith one cat and 
tails." And Stuart shouted, " Come, rouse out, you young 
rascal, and pay for your lodging. You were anxious to go to 
sea, and now you're there. We're abreast of Grosse Isle, and 
it's your watch; so turn to, rouse out, or by the man of the 
mast I will light you along with a rope lantern." Thus ab- 
jured, and alarmed by the fierce expressions and ferocious 
countenances of the two whom my previous experience had 
led me to consider as not my friends, I made a desperate 
effort to rise, and succeeded in suddenly plunging out of 
the hammock and landing on all fours, which seemed to 
amuse the two sailors immensely, for they roared with 
laughter. 

" Now then, you lubber, get into your duds and stand by 
to go on deck," and he looked as ferocious as his suppressed 
merriment would permit. My toilet was brief and I stag- 
gered out on deck just in time to meet my first heavy sea. 
I was dazed for a moment with the bright light of the May 
morning after the long confinement in the darksome fore- 
castle, and was astonished to see an enormous wall of water 
rising over the side of the ship and tumbling down on the 
deck. Howling with terror, I was swept off my feet and 
completely drowned in a salt-water bath, which rolled me 
to and fro on the deck like a log. When the water had run 



TURNED OUT. 



37 



out through the scuppers I found myself once more on dry- 
land, or rather on a very wet deck. At that moment my 
stomach, perhaps from the shaking up it had got from my 
rolling over on the deck, began to operate on its own ac- 
count, and it did itself great credit, judging from appear- 
ances and the remarks of the sailors. 

If the reader wishes my opinion on what can produce the 
most misery, wretchedness, heart-breaking, soul-rending, 
stomach-demoralizing suffering — worse than any hunger 




BILL NYE. 



and thirst, or any fever, coast or yellow, and a general sum- 
ming up of all the ills that flesh — that is, sailor's flesh, is heir 
to — I can cordially recommend a regular old-fashioned bout 
of sea-sickness. If you will only take one dose of it you'll 
be convinced that I speak from experience. 

Well, I crouched, wet to the skin, unable to hold on to 
anything, leaning against the lee bulwarks, and looked with 
glazed eyes at the foamy white waters raging beneath. 
Often I felt that I was swinging overboard, when a sea 



38 TRIED. 

heavier than usual made the ship lay over more deeply; but 
my only care was to rid my stomach of its intolerable load. 

" For'ard there." 

"Aye, aye, sir." 

" Who the h — 1 is that on the lee fore-chains ?" 

" Don't know, sir. He's just showed his-self, sir. 'Pears 
to have stowed his-self away aboard of us." 

"Thunder and guns! A stowaway, eh?" roared the 
deep voice of the officer. " Clap on to him, a couple of 
you, and lug him aft here, while I get a rope's end, and 
teach the son of a sea-cook to stow himself away aboard 
of the General Heivitt." In a second Jack Mason and Bill 
Nye had grabbed me, and were dragging me off with a 
great show of zeal, but, however, with great gentleness, to 
the quarter-deck. On the way Frenchy the doctor whis- 
pered as I passed him, "Du courage, mon petit; les amis 
sont, sont jours pres. Du courage, nom d'un nom." 

As soon as I was brought before the officer he roared out: 
" Now then, you d — d young scoundrel, who are you, and 
what are you doing aboard of us ? " Mason and Nye held 
me up and gave me a grip on the sly, as much as to say, now 
then, my lad, out with it. Spin your yarn, and we'll stand 
by you. 

Many is the time that I have listened to the plausible 
promises of landsmen, and been beguiled by their flattering 
words and oily tongues; but when man speaks to man, and 
we look for a guarantee of good faith in preference to prom- 
issory notes or bonds and mortgages, give me the honest 
word and the sterling grip of the true-hearted sailor. This 
reflection recalls the words of the great poet Shakspeare: 

" This above all : to thine own self be true, 
And it must follow, as the night the day, 
Thou canst not then be false to any man." 

Mason's grip nerved me to meet the trying ordeal, and I 



1 



CAPTAIN SELLERS. T>9 

spoke up: My name is George Davis, sir. I am or was ap- 
prenticed to Mr. Crapser of Quebec. I wanted to go to sea 
and so stowed myself away aboard of this ship. 

"Hallo!" said the second mate, " you were an apprentice 
of Mr. Crapser's, were you ? and you have been stowed away 
since that evening I saw you scramble into the gangway. Is 
that so ?" 

To that I very discreetly answered by silence. 

" Where did you get your rations these last ten days ?" 
inquired he, and there was more silence, when he turned to 
my friends and said, " Now, look you here, Jack Mason and 
Bill Nye, none of your innocent airs with me. You were in 
the boat that brought this youngster aboard. You've been 
stowing him away and giving him his rations since he's been 
aboard, and I have a d — d good mind to serve you as I in- 
tended to serve him." So saying, the infuriated officer 
swung a rope's end over his head, which rope seemed thick 
enough to serve as towline to a frigate. 

Just then a deep voice called, " Mr. Samuels, please to 
come here a minute." Mr. Samuels started at the call, 
grew very red, furtively dropped the rope's end and has- 
tened aft. Looking after him, I saw the friend whom I had 
met on the wharf on the arrival of the General Hewitt. 
When Mr. Samuels joined him they had some conversation 
and together went down into the cabin, and a subordinate 
came towards me with an air of great severity (probably 
assumed), saying, " Well, youngster, you have made a mess 
of it. You may thank your stars that Captain Sellers came 
on deck in time, or I'd have warmed your hide for you; but 
never mind, my lad; you're like a young cub, your troubles 
are all to come yet, so lay aft with me to the cabin. Captain 
Sellers wants to see his stowaway." 

So speaking, he led me aft to the cabin like a felon to the 
gallows. As I approached the sound of glasses clinking and 
merry laughing somewhat reassured me, for I felt that if my 



40 GUtLTY. 

judges were so good-humored they would not in all proba- 
bility become my executioners. 

Mr. Samuels, my jailer, halted at the companion-way and 
seemed to be afflicted with a very peculiar cough, which 
was not exactly like bronchitis or any other pulmonary 
trouble; but it was significant, for it hushed the merriment 
in the cabin, and caused such a calm there that I was fright- 
ened more than ever. Mr. Samuels gave me a shake and 
said: "Here he is, Captain; here's the stowaway. Look up, 
youngster, this is Captain Sellers." 

I looked up as I was ordered, and there sat, to my amaze- 
ment, in the place of honor at the table, my quondam 
acquaintance of the wharf; at his left sat Captain Knight, 
and on the other side a grizzly specimen of the French 
Canadian, whom I immediately recognized as a pilot of the 
Lower St. Lawrence, or, as they are generally called, a " Gulf 
Pilot." 

I noticed a fourth chair half drawn back, and a wine glass 
in its place not quite empty; the napkin dropped as in haste, 
as if the guest had suddenly left the cabin. 

" Well, young man, I see that you have disregarded my 
advice and have run away from home to become a stow- 
away. You have deserted your kind employer, Mr. Crapser, 
and have endeavored to steal a passage on board of my ship. 
What ought we do with him, Captain Knight? " he inquired, 
turning to him. Now, Captain Knight had been as utterly 
indifferent to my presence as if I had never existed, and he 
went on sipping his wine with the utmost composure, and 
when the glass was empty he held it out to be refilled. When 
that was done, he tasted it and made a horrible grimace 
towards Captain Sellers, saying: 

" This wine is really detestable, Sellers. 'Pon my honor, 
when I go up to Montreal I shall let Victor Hudon know 
my opinion of it. Just imagine, he sold it to me as the very 
finest Chateau Margaux, and as you see it is no better than 




HOME THOUGHTS. 



SENTENCED. 41 

common Saint Estephe, Oh — ah — yes, the lad — well, trice 
him up in the main rigging and give him a cool three dozen. 
Young rascal deserves twice as much. Allow me to suggest 
that all hands be called to witness punishment, and that 
it take place immediately; for really the presence of this 
young man in his present condition is not at all desirable. 
Since you have had the courtesy to ask my opinion , I 
suggest that he get a sound flogging and be returned in the 
pilot-boat to his master, or to the common jail." 

I am ashamed to confess that the prospect of being 
flogged and then ignominiously sent back among my asso- 
ciates, and to the custody of Mr. Crapser, or, still worse, to 
the jail, completely unnerved me, and, sobbing violently, I 
was on the point of being led away, when a state-room door 
opened and a kind voice said 

" One moment, George; just let him go, Mr. Samuels." 

That was the well-known voice of Mr. Crapser. In a 
moment I was at his feet and crying bitterly 

" Oh, Mr. Crapser, do, please, let me go home with you ; 
I will never run away again. These gentlemen say that I 
shall be flogged and then put into jail for running away. 

" Not quite so bad as that, George," said he kindly ; " I 
do not believe that either Captain Sellers or Captain Knight 
will insist on flogging you or sending you back to jail. 
I have long since noticed your desire to go to sea, and knew 
of you being stowed away on board of the General Hewitt. 
Now, since you desire it so much, I give you my permission. 
You will find a good chest on board with a sailor's outfit, 
and I trust that you will never regret your choice. So now, 
George, good bye. We must part soon. Captain Sellers, 
allow me to introduce to you my quondam apprentice, 
George Davis. Will you accept him as one of your ship's 
company ?" 

" Right heartily," answered Captain Sellers, "' and especi- 
ally as he has been one of my hands for the last ten or more 



42 GOOD BYE. 

days. The lad thought that he had all snug, but Mr. 
Samuels had his eye on him all the time." 

'Yes, sir," said the second officer; " I saw the youngster 

come aboard, and Frenchy told me where he was stowed 

away. Frenchy took good care of the boy, Mr. Crapser; 

and for that matter so did Jack Mason, Bill Nye, old Dick 

Stuart and all hands." 

" Back the maintop sail," was shouted from the quarter- 
deck, and the chief officer, coming to the skylight, said : 

"Pilot-boat alongside, Captain." 

"Well, gentlemen," said Captain Knight, "we must part. 
Captain Sellers, permit me to wish you a prosperous voyage." 

" Good bye, Sellers," said Mr. Crapser, " and take good 
care of my stowaway." 

"Aye, aye, he'll be lulled into shape," was the reassuring 
reply of Captain Sellers. 

Then Mr. Crapser, with a hearty shake of my hand, 
slipped a few sovereigns into my palm, and we all went on 
deck. The pilot-boat's skiff came up to the lee gangway, 
and in a few moments Mr. Crapser, Captain Knight, and the 
pilot had bidden us adieu. We filled away and the General 
Hezvitt was fairly under way homeward bound. 

Captain Sellers turned toward me and said, "Are you 
wet, my lad ?" 

" Yes, sir, to the skin." 

" Here, steward, take this boy into the cabin and give him 
a good tot of grog. Then you go for'ard, George, change 
yourself, and have a comfortable snooze. We shall want 
you by-and-bye." 

After swallowing a wine-glass full of Jamaica rum I went 
forward and was received with a hearty welcome by the 
whole crew, who were elated by my having passed so suc- 
cessfully through a very trying ordeal. I would have re- 
mained on deck had not the chief mate sung out in stento- 
rian tones: 



GOOD BYE. 43 

" For'ard there; let that boy turn in, and two of you lay 
aft for his dunnage. Here, you, Stuart and Mason." 

"Aye, aye, sir." In a few minutes I had changed clothing 
and was comfortably stowed away in my hammock, and my 
head, heart and stomach being at ease — for the fright at the 
dreaded trial had cured my sea-sickness — I soon fell asleep. 
All through that afternoon and night I slept soundly, per- 
fectly oblivious of the roaring of the wind, the thumping of 
the seas, or the shouting and stamping on deck. At eight 
bells next morning I was wakened by the watch being called, 
and, hastily dressing, enjoyed a hearty breakfast with the men 
below. I then went on deck, and for the first time in my 
life enjoyed the proud pleasure of being part and parcel of 
a noble ship's crew, and repeated mentally, " She walks the 
water like a thing of life and seems to dare the elements to 
strife," which I had read many times, longing to realize the 
sensation of being actually on board for a voyage, as I then 
was. Then also I remembered and felt the force and beauty 
of Eliza Cook's stirring poem, entitled " Through the 
Waters," of which this is the closing verse: 

" All sail away ; ah! who would stay to pace the dusty land 
If once they trod a gallant ship, steered by a gallant band 
Through the waters, through the waters ? Oh! there's not a joy for me 
Like racing with the gull upon a broad and dashing sea." 

And surely even the most critical and fastidious eye could 
find no fault with the General Hewitt, as it seemed to me. 
She was a Bombay teak-built ship of 2000 tons measurement, 
and belonged to the Honorable East India Company's service, 
whence she was temporarily detached to ship a cargo of 
square pine timber at Quebec for the company's use. She 
was armed en flute, and was manned in proportion, as were 
most merchantmen at that period, because pirates and free- 
booters were not then things of the past, but rather often in- 
conveniently present, especially in the tropics. 

As I was ruminating in this poetical vein and on the point 
of constructing a glowing future full of "castles in Spain," 



44 CABIN BOY. 

the steward came forward and said very simply, but with an 
air of indisputable authority: 

"The Captain has appointed you cabin-boy; bring your 
chest aft and I will show you a berth. Come, be lively." I 
was delighted at the promotion, but sighed at parting from 
the fo'castle, where I anticipated so much " good time" 
among the jolly tars, so many of whom were already friendly. 
But as there was nothing else to do I obeyed the order in- 
stantly. " Frenchy, the doctor," from that moment consid- 
ered that I was his special subordinate, and was delighted 
intensely. 

So now, dear reader, behold me duly installed, inducted, 
and invested in and with all the dignities of my new and 
honorable though humble position, as part of the crew of the 
General Hewitt, of the Honorable East India Company's 
service. The first chapter of the " Recollections of a Sea 
Wanderer's Life " ends here. 

" Lads of the land, ye shrink and hide 
As the tempest-cloud spreads black and wide, 
But the sailor boy leads the gayest life 
While the storm-fiends wage their fiercest strife." 



Chapter II. 



" There's lightning in yon horned moon, 

And tempest in yon cloud. 
And hark the music, mariners, 

The wind is piping loud; 
The wind is piping loud, my boys, 

And the lightning flashing free, 
The hollow oak our palace is, 

Our heritage the sea." 

A spanking breeze sent us flying down the St. Lawrence, 
safely past the threatening " Brandy Pots," a very dangerous 
reef of rocks, about which many tales of disaster are told by 
the old sailors. Near the mouth of the river is the most 
desolate, forlorn, gloomy and wretched coast out of the lati- 
tude of the Okhotsk Sea or Cape Horn, called Anticosti 
Island. It is well named " anti," for it is against all nature 
as a dwelling-place for anything beside the howling winds 
and pelting sleet, and possibly the region to which the gods 
have banished some of the evil spirits that are supposed to 
be hostile to sailors. It was a veritable " Cave of the Winds " 
to us, some of which got loose and came booming down on 
us from the nor'west, and obliged us to shorten sail until we 
were staggering along under a close-reefed maintop sail, 
reefed fore-sail, and foretop-mast-stay sail. Then I felt for 
the first time the cold, dark seas striking the ship like so 
many trip-hammers, and deluging the decks as if a river had 
been let loose. It was delightful to cling to the mizzen rig- 
ging and view from the high weather side of the ship the 
huge waves, inky black below and light green above, crested 
with foam, as if in rage at our intrusion on their domain. 
But the ship outrode the gale and, as if shaking the baffled 
foes off her sides, rode resolutely on her course. 

" The Lord only knows what " day dreams I was indulg- 
ing in when the warning cry was shouted, " Look out, 



46 MAN AT THE WHEEL. 

George!" when that instant I saw the whole Gulf of St. 
Lawrence towering above me, and I was smothered for a 
moment in its waters, which dashed me from the rigging, 
threw me against the spars lashed to leeward, where I lay 
dazed, bruised, and helpless through terror, and in danger of 
drowning, although the water escaped through the lee scup- 
pers and over the planksheer. 

" Go below, my lad, and shift yourself, and then lend the 
steward a hand to get the cabin ship-shape and 'Bristol 
fashion.' Next time you come on deck you must keep your 
weather eye open, and be ready to dodge the seas." 

I obeyed the captain's orders with alacrity — no delay was 
possible under the circumstances, and as I changed my 
clothing, and got dry and warm again, the thought occurred 
that, although the deck was a more romantic place, yet the 
cosy cabin was far more dry and desirable in rough weather. 
If the celebrated opera of " Pinafore " had then been writ- 
ten, I should have heartily appreciated the lines: 

" And when the breezes blow 
We generally go below." 

The heavy pounding of the seas continued for several 
hours, and when the pitching and tossing of the ship de- 
creased a little, concluding that the storm was over, I ven- 
tured on deck, and timidly approaching the man at the 
wheel ("Old Dick Stuart," as he was called), said: "Is the 
storm really over, Mr. Stuart ? " 

" What the blazes do you mean by talking to the man at 
the wheel, you young lubber ? Go ax the cook; he's a sea- 
faring man. Tell him I sent you. Do you hear ? Always 
ax the cook when you want to learn anything about sailor- 
izing." 

Very much dismayed at this rebuff, and fearing to disobey 
the rough order so bluntly given, I went to the galley door, 
where "Frenchy " was swearing furiously over his pots and 
kettles, and sweating like a bull, as he dodged the frequent 



MAN AT THE WHEEL. 



47 



splashes of hot water that flew about at every lurch of the 
ship yelling " Mille diables! " and repeating, when a liberal 
dose of hot soup lit on his breeches, "Quel temps infernal ! " 




CONSULTATION. 



4© HORSE-PLAY. 

" Veil, vat you look?" yelled he at me; "vat youvant? 
You come see burn me vit du sacre soup, eh ? " 

"Oh, no, Mr. Cook," said I; "but Mr. Stuart told me 
that you could tell me if the storm was over, and if the wind 
had gone down. And he said " 

That sentence was never finished; for with a wild yell the 
cook seized a rolling-pin, and with blazing eyes made a dash 
at me. I did not stand on the order of going, but tearing 
across the deck gained the cabin door; the ship giving a 
fearful lurch at the moment, tumbled me down the com- 
panion-way, and frightened the steward nearly out of his 
wits. 

There was a tremendous racket on deck. Dick Stuart's 
laugh was mingled with the frantic curses of " Frenchy " 
and the clatter of pots and pans, followed by an altercation 
between them. " Frenchy " was profuse in words and 
shrieks; but Stuart answered only by peals of merriment; 
so, of course, the cook's ire increased, like his own galley 
fires, until the Captain's voice, like oil on the waters, stilled 
the tempest by ordering the cook to his galley, and rebuking 
Stuart for talking at the wheel, and causing the ship to yaw 
in her course. The old seaman answered in a low and 
apologetic tone, and the Captain's steps were soon heard 
descending the companion-way. Once in the cabin, he threw 
himself into a seat and chuckled with suppressed merriment. 
However, he did not forget me, for he soon said: 

" Look here, George, don't go asking any more sea ques- 
tions of the cook. You see what you have done. The ship 
came by the lee; the cook is badly scalded; our soup and 
coffee are lost; and he will be no friend of yours or of Dick 
Stuart for many a day to come. And now, my lad, what on 
earth was the wonderful problem that the ' doctor ' was to 
answer ?" 

" Why sir," said I, " after I had changed my clothes and 
helped the steward set the cabin to rights, I noticed a queer 



HORSE-PLAY. 49 

change in the ship's motion, and the wind seemed to have 
abated; so I thought I would ask if the storm was over, and 
Mr. Stuart told me to ask the cook. When I did so the 
cook got mad." 

"Aye, aye," laughed the Captain; "Stuart is always 
ready for horse play, and he would give up his grog rather 
than lose a chance of plaguing any one. Now, if you will 
look at this chart, I will try to do as well as the ' doctor ' 
could in explaining the cause of the sudden change in the 
weather. Here is Anticosti, now on our weather-beam, or, 
rather, quarter; and here is Cape Rozier, at present on our 
lee quarter. With the wind nor'west, we had to give Rozier 
a wide berth, and stand about east-north-east to get an off- 
ing. As soon as we had stood long enough on that course, 
we let her fall off two points, bringing the wind further aft, 
easing the ship considerably. This made you think the wind 
had abated, and caused all the trouble. If you go on deck 
now, you will notice that the seas are running as heavily and 
the breeze is as stiff as when you were rolling about in the 
lee scuppers. Wait, though, until Stuart is relieved; for he 
will be sure to get you into more trouble, old salt that he is. 
Just tell the cook that it was not your fault, and ask his par- 
don. He's not a bad fellow. The boys give him no peace 
because, poor soul, he is a 'Johnny Crapeau,' as they 
call it." 

At four bells Bill Nye relieved the wheel, and I went on 
deck and easily succeeded in mollifying the " doctor." 

Although, as Captain Sellers said, the seas were still run- 
ning very high and the wind blowing half a gale, the crew 
had set the foretop sail close reefed, shaking reefs out of the 
maintop sail, and got a pull of the weather braces, and we 
were reeling off twelve knots an hour by the log. The wind 
still continuing, we soon cleared the Gulf and the Banks, 
when we got into blue water and reached the nor'western 
edge of the Gulf Stream. Then the wind began to mode- 



£6 SPINNING YARNS. 

rate into a whole-sail breeze, and the weather to grow sensi- 
bly warmer. Then we made sail in good earnest; shook out 
all the reefs, set the mizzen-top sail and all to'-gallant sails, 
jib, mainsail, and spanker, flying jib and royals. Soon after 
we rigged out larboard stun'-sail booms, and set fore and 
maintop-mast and to'-gallant-stun' sails, with lower stun' 
sail. We ran along under this canvas at a lively rate for the 
next three days and nights without starting tack or sheet. 

During this resting spell the sailors gathered in groups on 
deck or in the fo'castle, and " spun yarns " about their ad- 
ventures at sea, which were delightful to my fresh ears. 
Among many I remember one distinctly, because it gave me 
a lesson, or rather several lessons in one. Through some 
carelessness or other, one of the sailors cut his foot with the 
carpenter's adze, and an ugly wound it was. The foot was 
bound up, Jack was put to bed in one of the officers' berths, 
and every care was taken of him. I was allowed to attend 
him when not on other duty, and spent some hours a day 
reading to him. One day, when the wound began to heal — 
or, rather, had closed up all across, except at one spot where 
it was still obstinate — one of the old sailors came in to his 
messmate, and Jack complained of the pain the foot gave 
him. The old salt said that it would never be better until 
the ax that made the wound had been baked in the cook's 
oven until it was very hot. So he volunteered to ask the 
"doctor's" permission to bake the ax, and it was done. 
Jack said that the moment the ax was put into the oven 
the pain left, and only returned to plague him when it 
was taken out and allowed to cool off. So " Frenchy " was 
kind enough to sling it with a stout ratline above the coppers, 
and Jack was relieved of his pain altogether. I doubted 
very much the supposed value of the ax in curing the wound, 
but said nothing, preferring to be a silent listener when there 
was anything in the superstitious line going on. I have 
never knowingly given way to any silly notions of that kind, 



SHORTEN SAIL. 5 I 

although when I have noticed a lot of sharks following close 
in our wake, the notion that they knew that some one of us 
would soon be thrown over as " food for fishes " would 
make my flesh creep just a little, resist it ever so much; but 
creep it would. 

After the spell of steady wind we had a change, with the 
wind to the northeast, when it began to blow big guns, with 
a fine, warm rain so characteristic of the Gulf Stream. 
This wind was dead against the current of the Stream; 
there was an ugly sea, and the ship labored accordingly. 
The bows rising high above the water and then plunging 
down, sometimes shipping a heavy swell that washed the 
decks from stem to stern, was a new experience to my 
young eyes, and I wondered if the ship would not go down 
altogether. But as it seemed I was the only one on board 
who felt any uneasiness, I concluded there was no real danger, 
and took in the situation as a matter of course. Many times 
since, when there was real danger from a genuine storm, I 
have felt less anxious than on that first voyage, because my 
confidence in the staunchness of the ship was so great that 
it could not be shaken — at least not until the decks sank 
below the waters; and even then, unless loaded with railroad 
iron, or salt and sugar, there is always faith that she can be 
floated. 

As I lay in my berth, thinking over the case, and tossing 
from side to side uneasily, the sound of " eight bells " came 
down the hatch-way, and following it in the same breath: 
" All hands shorten sail ! " When the watch were on deck 
the orders came rapidly succeeding each other: "Haul the 
main sail up; haul down the jib; brail up the spanker; lay 
out, some of you, and furl the jib; some of you stop the 
foot of the spanker; lower away the top-sail halyards; haul 
out the reef tackles; up buntlines; steady the weather 
braces; " and "lay aloft." 

These orders, shouted so nearly in a breath, only confused 



52 MAN OVERBOARD. 

me; but the men acted as if by instinct, and, reckless of the 
howling winds, blinding rain, and drenching seas, felt their 
way with their hands and feet; for they could scarcely keep 
their eyes open, and it was pitchy dark besides; and, sur- 
prising as it seemed to me, each one singled out the particu- 
lar rope among the many grouped in the running rigging, 
and hauled away with a hearty will, many joining in a 
chorus as they tugged at some very heavy pull. 

Suddenly the cry arose, " Man overboard ! " The shouts 
of the men, rushing aft, heaving over coils of rope, and cut- 
ting loose life-buoys, in the forlorn hope that the poor fellow 
might catch on to one or another of them. No earthly 
power could avail, and both officers and crew were sorrow- 
ful and dumb as the ship rode on, and left the sailor to 
drown and sink, perhaps food for fishes. The seamen 
peered into each other's faces inquiringly when some one 
shrieked, " It is Bill Collier ! " And several called out 
loudly, " Bill Collier ! Bill Collier ! " as if to make sure that 
he was not among them nor anywhere on the ship. He was 
not. Poor Bill was far behind the ship, out of the reach of 
their call. Their voices were drowned a thousand times by 
the howling winds and swash of the blinding spray. Bill 
had been out on the foot-ropes of the jib-boom, clinging to 
the life-lines, holding up the folds of the heavy wet sail, 
slatting wildly about him, when some pitch of the ship threw 
his feet off, and he was plunged into the sea. Lost in the 
line of his duty, we honored his memory with many kindly 
words, while we strove to imagine what his feelings were as 
he slipped away into the furious waves. How he must have 
hoped against hope, if he heard the cry of alarm and the 
orders to heave the life-buoys; and what bitter agony he 
must have felt as the great ship swept by him, and her stern- 
lights faded in the storm and distance. How memories of 
home and loved ones must have crowded upon him. It is 
said that the drowning see beautiful visions of their early 



BILL COLLIER. 53 

days. Even if so, such visions are paid for at far too dear 
a price — life itself. Poor Bill ! Of all the ways of taking 
us off, it seems to me that the loss of a seaman in a stormy 
night by falling overboard is the most terrible. I can 
heartily join in repeating the prayer : " From such a fate, 
good Lord, deliver us." 

Bill Collier was a favorite with all his shipmates, and even 
with the officers; for he was a true type of a British sea- 
man — willing, kind, able, fearless of danger, resolute, and, 
withal, simole as a child. Of him it might well be said: 

" His form was of the manliest beauty, 
His heart was kind and soft ; 
While here below he did his duty ; 
But now he's gone aloft. 

" Still shall poor Jack find pleasant weather 
When He who all commands 
Shall give, to call life's crew together, 
The word to pipe all hands." 

" Well, shipmates," said Captain Sellers in a deep voice, 
that showed his kindly emotions, "poor Bill is gone from 
among us forever. Let us all do our duty, as he did, so that 
when the call comes we may be ready to answer, and show 
an honorable discharge from the Ship of Life. Now, boys, 
turn to again," he said more firmly; " turn to again, and 
hoist the top sails." 

Silently and sadly the men went to their work, which was 
soon done, when the watch went below and turned in. 
While we were below during the last dog-watch, from six to 
eight in the evening, a sound like that of a hundred-pounder 
made us rush on deck, when we saw that the close-reefed 
foretop sail had blown clean out of the bolt-ropes. We were 
then under storm canvas, close-reefed maintop sail, reefed 
fore sail, and foretop-mast-stay sail; and so we flew over 
the waves, with favoring, although brisk, winds, making ten 
or eleven knots, and, counting two of the Gulf Stream with 
us, even thirteen knots an hour, for days at a stretch. After 
a few days of this sort of racing with the dolphins, early 



54 BILL COLLIER. 

one morning the welcome cry of " Land ho ! " brought all 
hands on deck. Sure enough, there it was, broad on our 
port bow-way, the dim outline of the Lizard Point, which 
lies to the east'ard of Land's End. This welcome sight 
cheered us all, and some of the men broke out into snatches 
of song, others into exclamations of delight and joy, at the 
prospect of seeing home again. As for me, the romantic 
vein was touched, and I recalled the lines that were once so 
popular: 

" Like slaves in the galleys 
We'll plough the salt seas ; " 

and also other lines: 

" We'll rant and we'll rove 
All o'er the salt seas, 
We'll rant and we'll rove, 
Like true British heroes, 
Until we strike soundings 
In the Channel of Old England. 
From Ushant to Scilly 'tis forty-five leagues." 

The next day proved rainy, but with a fresh sou'west 
wind towards night we made the Start on the Devonshire 
coast, when we took in all the stun' sails, rigged in the 
booms, and unrove the gear. Next morning we sighted the 
Portland Bill; at midnight we had reached Beachy Head, 
and by morning were off Dungeness, where we spoke a sea 
(or King's) pilot. The manner in which one of those pilots 
boards a ship is to be commended, if not for comfort, at 
least for its simplicity, which is extreme. A heaving line is 
hove aboard of the pilot-boat, which line the pilot makes 
fast about his body, under his arms, in a bowline knot, and 
he then jumps into the sea, and is hauled aboard the ship 
as if he were a porpoise. 

As we were sailing up the Channel, Captain Sellers caught 
sight of an American packet, at that time painted in the 
style called bright-sided, and he growled out: "Blank blank 
the blank Yankee ship ! I would like to sink her." Perhaps 
he would have done it if he could have done the job on the 
sly, but he may have been no better than many another who 



BLACK-EYED SUSAN. 55 

has proved more noisy, braggy and beery in the ale-house 
than on the sea. 

Being then at the entrance of the Straits of Dover, we 
could see the shores of both France and England at the 
same time. By three in the afternoon we were off the South 
Foreland Light, and, hauling our wind to the nor'ard, came 
to an anchor in the Downs. The Downs is the noted anchor- 
age of the " Wooden Walls of England." I had read about 
the famous fleet, and expected to see something grand; but, 
like the boy who first visited a city, and said he could not 
see the place very well because there were so many houses, 
so I was also somewhat confused by the great number and 
variety of vessels visible far and near, and found it difficult 
to make out the fleet of war vessels; so I repeated to myself 
the fine old song written by John Gay two centuries ago: 

" All in the Downs the fleet lay moor'd, 

The streamers waving in the wind, 

When black-eyed Susan came aboard. 

' Oh ! where shall I my true love find ? 
Tell me, ye jovial sailors ! tell me true. 
If my sweet William sails among the crew.' " 

The sentiment was fine, but did not quite hit my case, for 
I had no lassie to meet me, and had not even left a sweet- 
heart in Canada. In my eyes it was a glorious sight, and it 
was in England, where I so much wished to be. We were 
still about one hundred miles from London when we furled 
sails for the night, cast anchor, set the anchor watch, and 
could enjoy the reflection so well put in these words: 

" The dangers and the perils of the voyage were past, 
And our ship at anchor's moored at last ; 
The sails are all furled, and the anchor is cast, 
The happiest of the crew, Jack Robinson." 

The " Jack Robinson " in that case was your humble 
servant, George Davis, and he enjoyed the liberty of that 
anchor watch with the best of them. While the rest of the 
crew went below to smoke a pipe, play at cards or spin yarns, 
I remained on deck gazing at the lights on shore, and won- 



56 



ROYAL DOCK. 



dering what manner of people there might be, or listening 
to the various sounds which arose from the numberless ves- 
sels near us. 




Early next morning two powerful black tugs made fast to 
the ship, one on each side, and having weighed anchor, we 
were soon making way towards London with great speed. 



LONDON. 57 

On the way up the river Thames Dick Stuart acted as 
cicerone, and pointed out to us the various objects of inter- 
est as they passed in review. The first place was Sheerness, 
with its naval dockyards. This port is protected by exten- 
sive fortifications on both banks of the river. The Isle of 
Thanet near was the landing place of Hengist and Horsa, 
the Jutes, who came across the sea from Jutland in the year 
440 A.D., and established the power which afterwards be- 
came the English nation, with the addition of the Saxons 
fifty years and the Angles a century after, and the Normans 
five centuries later. The Welsh should be included, but 
then they are a people by themselves. We passed Graves- 
end on the left, and were told that on a clear day, from 
the mast-head, we could see Chatham and the spire of 
Rochester cathedral to the sou'east. Tilbury Fort is oppo- 
site Gravesend, and would be a wicked customer to wake up 
in case of an enemy attempting to sail up the river. Soon 
after passing the fort Woolwich hove in sight. This is the 
most ancient royal dockyard in England, established in 
15 12, only two and a half miles from Greenwich — the home 
of the English sailors who have worn out their health and 
strength in the navy. The hospital building was built by 
King Charles II for a palace, and was assigned to its present 
use by King William III about 1700. The income, chiefly 
from confiscated estates, is enormous. The Sailor's Snug 
Harbor, on Staten Island, New York, is a similar institution, 
with an enormous income, said to be more than any one 
knows. Well, it is a source o f comfort to poor Jack to feel 
and know that there are good berths ready for him when his 
hulk is disabled, and he can no longer brave the Storm King. 
Tom Hood says: "A Greenwich pensioner is a sort of 
stranded marine animal, that the receding tide of life has 
left high and dry on the shore. He pines for his element 
like a sea bear, and misses his briny washings and wettings. 
What the ocean could not do the land does, for it makes 



58 



LONDON. 



him sick; he cannot digest properly unless his body is rolled 
and tumbled about like a barrel-churn. Terra firma is good 
enough to touch at for wood and water, but for nothing 
more." 

While we were passing the Nore, off Sheerness, Stuart 
gave us an account of the famous mutiny of the British fleet 
in 1798, and pointed out the place where "Queen Bess" 
stood on an eminence while the Dutch fleet, under Van 




IN DOCK. LONDON. 



Tromp, was destroying the English fleet, and she cried, "Oh, 
my poor fleet ! " And there were many other notable ob- 
jects in view. Late in the afternoon we were laid alongside 
of the Bashemere, an old Dutch man-of-war that was aban- 
doned by a squadron under the Dutch Admiral De Ruyter, 
who, after ravaging a part of London, and destroying an 
immense amount of shipping, retreated down the river, 
leaving his mark as he went. The General Heivitt was 



LONDON. 



59 



warped into Blackwall Basin, which lies between the East 
and West India docks, where she was securely moored. 
Thus ended my first voyage. Many years have passed since 
then, and nearly all of my old shipmates have long since 
stood their last watch, and have departed for the land of the 
hereafter. Peace be to their gallant souls, one and all. 
They showed naught but uniform kindness and tender 
solicitude for a friendless boy, so unexpectedly cast among 
them. Kindly Jack Mason, gruff Bill Nye, and fatherly 
Dick Stuart, fare ye well, wherever ye may be. Your 
memories are ever green in the inmost heart of your former 
shipmate, George Davis. Only this last fall there died in 
San Francisco one who was in the crew of the Ewing with 
me. So they go — some after short trips, others after a long 
voyage. There also died, aged 75, in San Francisco, "Joe 
Winrow," the leader in the mutiny on board the Columbus. 
Captain Depeyster, from Liverpool. 




SEEING LONDON. 




it fl 



Chapter III. 



" Loud roars the dreadful thunder, 
The rain in torrents pours ; 
The clouds are rent asunder 

By the lightning's vivid powers. 
That night, both chill and dark, 
Our poor devoted bark, 
There she lay, 
- 'Til next day. 
In the Bay of Biscay, oh." 



The crew were paid off next day, and after many kindly 
leave-takings dispersed, some to hunt up relatives, friends, 
or sweethearts, and others, less fortunate, to hunt up quar- 
ters in a sailor's boarding-house. This last was not a diffi- 
cult task as to quantity, for there was an " embarrassment of 
riches" as to number, but as to quality — well, one land-shark 
is very much like another, that's all I have to say at present, 
except that they were in those days, without exception, ex- 
cessively anxious to serve poor Jack, and assist him in get- 
ting rid of his hard-earned money. Clamorous as a pack of 
wolves eager for their prey, the runners for the boarding- 
houses came at you, a dozen at a time, and tackled on to 
poor Jack and his box, or sea-chest, and hauled him this 
way and that, amidst a war of words and ear-splitting shouts 
and curses, which often led to bloody fights. Jack must at 
such times keep his weather-eye on his dunnage, or it would 
disappear without hope of recovery. However, that was 
not the most serious danger ; when in the boarding-house 
the kind host supplied him with liquor in abundance that 
was almost more strong than pure. The result was too often 
that Jack remained moored head and stern in the grog- shop 
until his money was spent or stolen, when he was shipped 
for another voyage, the first notice of which would be a kick 
and a curse from the mate, who ordered him to go on board 
at once. 



62 SHARKS. 

Dazed and stupefied, he looks for his chest, and feels in 
his pockets for his money, and both have vanished, and he 
learns that he is outward bound for " God knows where " — 
around the Horn it may be, without a second shirt to his 
back or a " sous marquee" in his pocket. Such an experi- 
ence was too common in those days. It is to be hoped that 
the customs of the shippers and the greed of the " sharks" 
have improved and moderated since then. But if we are to 
judge from certain reports about the United States Shipping 
Commissioners, in South street, New York, of a few years 
since, the world moves very slowly in some matters. Poor 
Jack! The insurance companies keep patrol wagons and 
complete sets of fire apparatus to protect property on shore; 
I ask, would it be unreasonable to do a little something to 
protect the property afloat that they insure ? The safety of 
a ship may depend at a critical moment on a sailor. It is 
important that all sailors should be trustworthy, for the sake 
of safety to all. And besides safety to property, there might 
be a slight effort made for humanity's sake. The Bethel is 
all right, and it may be that many of the prayers offered 
there by preachers and others, who never slept in a sailor's 
berth, are answered. Let us hope they are. But still the 
true way to benefit the sailor is to protect him from the posi- 
tive evils and dangers that so often wreck him on shore. 

With Captain Sellers' permission I was allowed to remain 
on board until I could find another ship, in exchange for 
some light duties. Young as I was, I saw many interesting 
things in the great city, beginning with the docks, of which 
I remembered most particulars of the East India and the 
West India, because the General Hewitt lay between them 
and I saw them often. The London and St. Catherine were 
not far away. I was greatly surprised at the enormous 
storage capacity on the docks, and walked through miles of 
huge casks in rows, and tier on tier, filled with wine or other 
liquors from foreign countries. I had read about the Tower, 



PAGET. 6$ 

and hurried there as soon as the docks had been looked over. 
There were too many things to see in the Tower, and I soon 
tired of the monotonous drawl of the guide who showed us 
around, for I knew so little of the history of the times to 
which the relics stored there related that they had little in- 
terest to me. I determined to remedy that omission in my 
education, and from that day asked questions of those who 
were supposed to know, and read the best books that could 
be had where I was, and by so doing was better prepared to 
profit by and enjoy seeing the sights. My recollections of 
the wonderful things in that ancient fortress and palace com- 
bined are rather confused. I now think the fat and wheezy 
guide said that in one of the towers (for there were towers 
and towers in the great Tower) King Richard the Third 
murdered his nephews; in another the Duke of Clarence was 
purposely drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine; in a third 
Lady Jane Grey was beheaded ; in a fourth the famous 
Anna Boleyn was imprisoned ; and there was something 
said about Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Thomas Moore, 
the noble William Wallace, and other historical personages 
of one or two or more centuries ago; but all I remember is 
the name, and I am not quite sure of that. I am certain of 
one thing, and that is that a gentleman of our sight-seeing 
party gave the puffy guide a sovereign, while I could hardly 
afford a shilling; but I noticed that he seemed as pleased 
with my small gift as with the other. I stayed behind to ask 
him a question or two, when he kindly told me to come next 
day and call for 'Arry 'Unt, and he would show me "hall 
hover the 'ole business for nothink." I went and was de- 
lighted, but it was like rain on a ship's deck — the torrent of 
information was wasted on me, and ran out of my noddle as 
fast as it was poured in. 

I stumbled into St. Paul's, and there were a great number 
of workmen busy doing something to the inside, working on 
scaffolding that was built up all around against the walls. I 
was surprised at seeing so many tombs inside a church. Why, 



6 4 



PAGET. 



it seemed more like a cemetery. There were Lord Nelson's, 
Sir John Moore's, and a great many other famous English- 
men of whom I have since read, but am not even now sure 
that they are buried in St. Paul's or in that other cemetery 
called Westminster Abbey. The greatest curiosity at St. 
Paul's was the big bell. I paid a shilling for the privilege of 
seeing it; and while I was near it the hour of three was 
struck, and it made my ears ring again. I could not hear 
ordinary conversation after that for an hour or two. 

Stuart had told me about the Zoo. I hastened there 
early one day and spent most of the time watching the 
antics of the bears, and feeding apples to the elephant by 
allowing him to pick them out of my pockets. I was cau- 
tioned not to give him tobacco, but as I did not use the 
weed I was in no danger. It is said that an elephant never 
forgives an offense of that kind, and sometimes inflicts 
serious injury in retaliation. 

London Bridge (I mean the great one, for there are many 
of them) was one of the objects that drew me often to see 



**4njii 




OLD LONDON BRIDGE. 



WASHING. 65 

the large stream of humanity pouring both ways at the same 
time over its broad roadway. The route to the bridge led 
by several of those famous gin-palaces for which London is 
famed, and I often stepped inside to see what were the 
attractions; but as I had not then acquired an appetite for 
the ardent, my visits did not tax my pocket nor fuddle my 
brain. 

When I had tired of seeing so many new things I hunted 
from dock to dock until a vessel was found bound for the 
United States, which was then the great goal of my ambi- 
tion. But I could only find a brig, the Paget of Bermuda, 
bound for St. Vincents, one of the Windward Islands in the 
West Indies, which was near enough, for I could hope to 
find another vessel there bound for the States. The Paget 
was loaded with an assorted cargo of British goods. 

On the morning of our departure from London, as Captain 
Brophy was coming up the gangway ladder, " as we lay in 
the City Canal," one of the man-rope stanchions broke, and 
he tumbled back upon the dock, fracturing his left ankle 
bone, which was attended to and set in splints as soon as pos- 
sible, and he was carried, groaning with pain, into the cabin. 

In spite of the suffering he endured, he would not listen 
to the surgeon's advice, but roughly telling him to go ashore 
and be d — d, he ordered the mate to cast off and haul out 
into the river and make sail. 

This was done; we dropped down the river Thames and 
reached the Downs, where, as the wind was blowing up 
channel from the west'ard, we came to an anchor, wind- 
bound. 

In the morning I commenced washing the table and other 
linen of the cabin, and, having finished, hung the articles to 
dry in various places. 

One large table-cloth I fastened to the main try-sail-boom 
topping-lift, where it got the full swing of the breeze, and 
then rested, well content with my work. 



66 



REGATTA. 



In a few moments I noticed a whole fleet of small boats 
set out from the shore of Deal and come toward us, where 
we lay at a considerable distance from other wind-bound 
vessels. 

At first I thought it was a regatta, and, shouting to the 




7 ' w r 

SWIPES IN A GIN-PALACE, LONDON. 



TROUBLE SIGNAL. 67 

mate, I called his attention to the now rapidly-approaching 
boats, and said: 

" Look ! Mr. Williams, look at the boat-race." 

"Boat-race be d — d," said he gruffly ; "just like a b — y 
Kanuck to think that ' Deal luggers' have no more savey than 
to risk their skins boat-racing in a breeze like this. But 
what the blazes are they up to, anyhow ?" said he. 

At this moment three or four of the boats came within 
hail, and, luffing up under our stern, began shouting in 
chorus: 

" Brig, ahoy ! Brig, ahoy !" 

" What do you want ?" 

" What's the matter with you ?" 

" What the h — 1 is the matter with yourselves ? Are you 
all drunk or crazy ?" 

" Who sent for you to come ? Who said anything was the 
matter with us, eh ?" 

" What are you flying that bunting on your main try-sail- 
boom topping-lift for, then ?" roared the infuriated boatmen. 

" What bunting ?" roared the mate in reply; but just then 
his eye caught the unfortunate table-cloth. In a moment the 
truth flashed upon him. 

" Oh! you infernal son of a sea-cook," yelled he, and, 
snatching up a piece of rattling stuff, he made for me with 
uplifted arm. I had just time to slip into the galley and 
bolt the door when he began to batter against it with all his 
might, and throwing his body against it, tried to burst it 
open. Fearing the worst, I took a saucepan full of hot water 
from the coppers and threatened to heave it in his face if he 
dared to put foot inside of the galley. 

This threat produced a salutary effect, and he walked 
slowly away, vowing all sorts of dire vengeance against that 
Kanuck cook. He then went to the gangway and, laying 
all the blame on my poor shoulders, sent the boatmen away 
growling at the time and labor they had lost. 



68 FLOTSAM. 

There the matter ended. The mate regained his usual 
good temper, and I never afterwards hung table-cloths on 
the topping-lifts while in a roadstead at anchor. I after- 
wards learned that any large object in the rigging of a vessel 
was a signal that we needed something from shore. 

After we had been at anchor for two days a fine breeze 
sprung up from the east'ard, and, weighing anchor under 
easy sail, we rounded the south foreland and stood " down 
channel " past Dungeness and Beachy Head, and got down 
to the Isle of Wight. 

There the wind died away and we were becalmed, our 
brig losing steerage-way. 

Looking lazily over the rail I noticed a spar, which, though 
floating on the surface of the water, seemed fixed in one 
spot. 

Hastening aft, I called the mate's attention to it. 

At first he was disinclined to believe me, but finally saun- 
tered to the rail and looked carefully at the floating spar. 

"Why, by heavens, that's a spar-buoy," said he. "Lay 
aft, some of you, and lower the dingy. Be lively, lads." 

The boat was soon lowered and two men jumped in her 
and soon reported that it was a spar-buoy, and had a long 
rope attached to it. We fished it up, and soon had the 
pleasure of hauling on board about 150 ankers of the finest 
French brandy, a most welcome flotsam and jetsam. 

This valuable prize had, without doubt, been dropped and 
buoyed by some French smuggler that was being chased by 
an English revenue cutter. 

I strongly suspected that there were more than the 150 
ankers reported by the mate; from his appearance and that 
of the crew, and the seemingly causeless hilarity which pre- 
vailed forward, I concluded that the brandy had paid very 
heavy duty on its way aft. 

Of course, I kept my own counsel and looked very inno- 
cent indeed, and from that day forward the mate, Mr. Wil- 






BAY OF BISCAY. 69 

liams, was my fast friend, and grudged no time or trouble to 
teach me all sorts of knots, hitches and splices, and to post 
me upon many useful and intricate points of seamanship. 

The wind meantime had come west of the same quarter 
and freshened until it blew a whole-sail breeze, which con- 
tinued for about three days, when we found ourselves tumb- 
ling about upon the boisterous waters of the Bay of Biscay. 
Here dirty, disagreeable weather is the almost invariable 
rule, and we were not to have the benefit of an exception. 

All night long " Old Stormy" kept us busy ; but not con- 
tented with that much, he woke us early in the morning, put 
a fresh hand to the bellows, and out it came, howling, from 
the sou'west. The canvas was greatly reduced, and we felt 
like singing out, " Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks." If 
we did not say it we thought it, and old Boreas, or some 
other windy god, seemed to divine our hidden thoughts and 
to resent them by an extra supply of what we had enough 
and to spare already. 

Out it came from the west'ard, and we shipped tremen- 
dous seas. 

I was standing near the lee main rigging, when the sea to 
wind'ard seemed to rise bodily, and a moving wall of water, 
like a tidal wave of the Pacific, came sweeping down upon 
us. Shouting a warning cry to the men busy at their work 
about decks, I sprang into the rigging, and climbed half way 
up to the top. 

Well for me that I did so; in an instant it struck the brig; 
she quivered with the shock as if she had struck on a 
rock ; the next moment she was almost hidden from sight 
by the watery avalanche. The galley was torn from its 
lashings, also the water-casks; and, plunging wildly across 
the decks, carried away about ten feet of the bulwarks. 
Through this opening the deluge of water rushed, carrying 
with it the greater part of our water-casks and the wreck of 



7o 



MORE YARNS. 



my galley, with an assortment of pots, pans, kettles, meats, 
and vegetables. 

The long-boat would have shared the same fate but for 
the fact of being stowed on very high chocks, so that the 
force of the water flowed under it. 

Talk about Marius amid the ruins of Carthage ! What 
were his feelings compared with mine amid the ruins of my 
galley ! That galley, so neat and trim, with everything in its 
place, and as bright as rotten-stone and elbow-grease could 
make it. The once well-polished caboose alone remained, 
and it was now a dirty, water-stained, dismantled thing, tum- 
bled over on its side, with half its covers gone. 

Well, "What's done can't be undone." We moved the 
caboose into the cabin, and I did the cooking there for the 
remainder of the passage. 

We had now received our full allowance of the weather in 
the "Bay of Biscay, oh ! " and the gale began to moderate 
and work round to the nor'ard sufficiently to allow us to lay 
our course free with the wind abaft the beam, with whole 
topsails, mainsail, and jib, main trysail, and reef out of 
the foresail. 

The wind finally settling in the nor'west, with a strong but 
steady breeze, and good weather, we set to'-gallant sails, 
royals, flying jib and stun' sails, not stirring tack nor sheet 
for near two weeks. 

Then the sailors' tongues were let loose again; for they 
had been somewhat restrained by rough weather and our 
losses, which affected our provender, and that was a serious 
matter. And when a sailor has had a spell of rest for his 
"chin-music," prepare for breakers! We had many stories 
of adventure and shipwreck in the Bay of Biscay, of which 
I remember one in particular about a sailor named 'Arry 
Moss — who was the hero, or rather the victim — among many 
others. 'Arry had sailed many times between London of 
Southampton or Portsmouth and the Madeira Islands in a 



'arry moss. 71 

fruit vessel, and experienced all sorts of mishaps, including 
shipwreck; but the end came when he, with the whole crew, 
were thrown on a rocky shore on a stormy night, and only 
one or two were so fortunate as to escape alive. This 
Harry, or Henry, Moss was a brother of the celebrated 
actress, Laura Keene, whose maiden name was Mary Moss. 
They reported to the owners after a long journey on foot 
to Boulogne, and by ship across the channel, and that was 
the only word that 'Arry's friends in London ever had of 
his fate. I afterwards saw some of his relations, and had 
to repeat the story of the shipwreck as I heard it from one 
of the surviving sailors; for tidings, even at second-hand, was 
news in the absence of any other. I called on 'Arry's 
sweetheart in Camberwell, London, and found her a quiet, 
middle-aged spinster, who had waited patiently for many 
years for her 'Arry to quit the seas, and settle down at 
'ome. And that was to be his last voyage — and so it 
proved; but with an undesirable ending. Poor Susan! 
She was not black-eyed; for hers were blue. I can fancy 
now that I see her sitting, as she did on that cool autumn 
day, close to her cannel-coal fire, making a cup of tea from 
a sixpence-worth I had brought her. She had rooms over a 
second-hand dealer's store, and I have often thought of 
what a bewildering variety of iron things that old sinner 
had in his shop. What a world of work and contrivance 
and uses they represented ! Well, Susan was only one more 
item added to the nearly worn-out things that once had a 
place in the world; but, on becoming second-hand, only 
desirable as curiosities, or make-shift for some service that 
better material cannot be spared for. This is a strange, 
practical, busy world, anyhow. 

We put into Funchal, the capital of Madeira, for water, 
the Bay of Biscay having appropriated our first supply. 
The casks were rafted ashore, filled, and towed off to the 
ship, when we hoisted them on board. The Madeiras be- 



72 PADDY S HURRICANE. 

long to Portugal, and are about 800 miles distant from that 
country. The language is Portuguese. The islands rise 
straight out of the sea, and are covered with sharp peaks, 
with very narrow, deep ravines between. The soil is said to 
be very fertile. Nearly 200,000 boxes of oranges and 
20,000 pipes of wine, beside other goods, are exported 
yearly. 

Funchal and other parts of the Madeiras are said to be a 
favorite resort of invalids in search of relief from one 
disease or another. The great change in scenery from my 
home in Canada, or from England, was noticed at first 
glance. Instead of oaks and pines, there are oranges, 
bananas, coffee plantations, immense palm trees, and many 
others, whose names I do not now recall, which make the 
scenery very charming. 

After rafting off and hoisting our water-casks aboard, we 
got underway and stood on our course, passing the Canaries 
and Cape de Verde Islands, soon after which we fell in with 
the " Doldrums," or "horse latitudes." 

Why this delectable part of the world rejoices in the 
name of "horse latitudes" is a matter which I deferentially 
leave to be settled by those who delight in solving abstruse 
problems. My humble idea is because seamen had to work 
like horses until, after days and nights of unceasing labor, 
they bade a heartfelt adieu to the " Doldrums," and at last 
realized the blessings of a steady breeze. 

Torrents of rain — " Paddy's hurricanes," straight up and 
down the masts — followed each other with exasperating 
regularity, excepting an occasional "cat's-paw," as vain and 
delusive as the mirage of Sahara, holding out to us the 
promise of a breeze, and sending us flying to the braces, 
hauling to port, then to starboard, then squaring away 
in a manner which outrivaled the "Ancient Mariner" 
and surpassed the " Flying Dutchman." All on board were 
greatly morose and despondent, and seemed to have served 




IN THE MADEIRAS. 



74 CAPTAIN THIRSTY 

in the army of Flanders, and to have merited honorable 
mention for proficiency in the catalogue of oaths. 

The men ripped out imprecations upon the brig, grumbled 
at the wind and their own organs of vision; the mate fumed 
and swore, and the captain from his berth below roared 
more lustily than ever, " Steward, bring me a glass of 
brandy." 

Infected by the sulphurous atmosphere which pervaded 
the brig, and, as the lawyers say, impelled thereto by the 
devil, I out of sheer malice determined to make Captain 
Brophy as miserable as the rest of us. I knew that he was 
unable to leave his berth to punish me for my capers, and I 
was also fully aware that the mate would chuckle at any 
little annoyances I might cause the captain; for Mr. Wil- 
liams was very much discontented at the way in which the 
captain was "sogering" below, putting upon his officer's 
shoulders double duty and the entire responsibility of the 
voyage. 

When, therefore, a dozen times a day the captain would 
roar out for his glass of brandy, I always responded cheer- 
fully, and, taking a bottle out of the locker where it was 
kept, would fill out a glassful and hand it to him; but just 
as he would be on the point of seizing it in his eager grasp, 
I would sometimes make a profound obeisance, and saying, 
very gravely, " Here's your good health, sir, Captain Bro- 
phy; I hope your ankle will soon be well; we're all dying 
to see you on the quarter-deck again," I would then drain 
the glass, smack my lips, and, making another bow, retire 
amid a perfect tempest of imprecations. 

Well, we did get out of the " Doldrums " at last, and 
falling in with the regular nor'east trades, squared away, 
with all stun' sails alow and aloft. 

In vessels of our class it was customary for the cook to 
steer in the last dog-watch, from six to eight in the evening, 



"j6 CAPTAIN BROPHY. 

and in daytime to set and haul in the mainto'-gallant stun' 
sails from the maintop, and work the main-royal. 

These duties I performed with the greatest pleasure, and 
endeavored, by assiduous questioning and careful observa- 
tion, to learn the duties of the vocation to which I intended 
to devote my life. 

The trade winds continued steady, and in eleven days 
more we made Barbadoes, and hove too off Bridgetown, the 
chief port, where we received orders to proceed to St. Vin- 
cent, to leeward, and the next morning dropped anchor in 
Kingston Roads, off Kingston, the chief town of the island. 

Captain Brophy now seemed to be rapidly convalescing; 
as his ankle knit together, my apprehensions increased. 
Conscience makes cowards of us all, and I feared that he 
would commemorate his recovery by inscribing on my back 
tablets of certain hieroglyphics which would be neither 
agreeable nor ornamental. I therefore concluded that dis- 
cretion would be the better part of valor, and determined 
to flee from the wrath to come. As my chief reason for 
preferring to ship in the Paget had been to get as near as 
possible to the "States," I now eagerly sought for an op- 
portunity to carry out my project, and at the same time 
escape any undesirable acquaintance with a rope's end. 

In my capacity as steward it was my duty to scull the 
dingy ashore every morning, and do the marketing. 

On every trip made for this purpose, I paid particular 
attention to the names of the various craft in the roadstead, 
and of the ports from whence they hailed. 

About a cable's length in shore of us lay a top-sail 
schooner, on whose stern read, Greenville, Washington, N. C. 
She had just discharged a cargo of staves, and was now 
preparing for sea. Here, then, was the very chance I 
wanted ! Afraid of being seen from our own decks, and 
my intentions suspected, I did not dare to go on board, but 



SCULL ASHORE. 



77 

The occasion 



waited for an opportunity to see her captain 
soon presented itself. 

I had sculled passed her one morning, and was close in 
shore, when I saw her boat, in which were two men, hauled 
up to the gangway, and the captain stepping in. I stepped 




THE PLANTAIN. 

ashore at the same moment, and going up to the captain, 
asked him for a passage to the "States." Without asking 
any questions, he said, yes; that he was very glad, as he had 
lost two men overboard on the outward passage, and was 
short-handed. 



78 TAR RIVER. 

As Captain Darden was anxious to catch the land breeze, 
he had given orders to weigh anchor between two and three 
o'clock next morning, at which time we weighed anchor, 
made sail, and stood out to sea on our passage homeward, 
heading for Washington, on Tar River, North Carolina, 
where we arrived after a tedious passage of nearly eight 
days of calm and variable winds, interspersed with a mild 
hurricane or two, having touched at the Bermudas to 
repair damages such as a split mainsail, foretop sail, and 
so on; and where we sold a lot of plantains and cocoanuts. 

We crossed Acracoke bar, Pamlico Sound, and up Tar 
River to the port, where, as soon as the vessel was made 
fast to the dock, I went on shore, and inspected the town. 
Washington at that time consisted of the immense number 
of two houses, both filled with negroes. These negroes 
were stevedores — slaves then— who loaded the vessels with 
tar and turpentine. 

The soil, where it was cleared, was rich, but the negroes 
had no time for agriculture; for they worked often from 
four in the morning till eleven at night, loading vessels. So 
it was the custom — and it may be said, also, the local law — 
for their female associates to lazily till, or rather scratch, 
the fertile soil, and raise vegetables enough to supply the in- 
habitants of the "city." 

The main reliance of both town and country was placed, 
and very justly, too, in the poultry, which, left to their own 
devices, thrived and multiplied amazingly, in spite of the 
constant depletions of their ranks by their black and white 
foes, and, with a praiseworthy spirit of forgiveness, filled 
every nook and corner with real fresh, new-laid eggs. 

The pleasures of this Arcadia of the New World soon 
palling upon my rather fastidious taste, I shipped as second 
hand on board of the fore-and-aft schooner Valiant, seventy- 
two tons measurement, Captain Farrow. 

This vessel was engaged in carrying freight between 



61 




8o SCHOONER VALIANT. 

Washington, Philadelphia, and New York, and carried 
600 barrels of tar or turpentine, 300 below hatches, and 
300 on deck. Philadelphia was then but a small city 
in comparison to its present vast extent. At that time there 
were no houses above Fourth street. Camden, where we 
discharged, had about a dozen houses. 

I remained in the Valiant about a year and a half, re- 
ceiving good wages and better food, perfecting myself in 
knotting, splicing, setting up, reefing, furling, and steering, 
so that at the time I parted company with Captain Farrow 
at Philadelphia, and my shipmates of the Valiant, I felt 
justified in calling myself an ordinary seaman. 

On board of the Valiant we lived on salt makerel, corn 
dodger, poultry and eggs, with Yupon tea, sweetened with 
molasses, which I preferred to the China tea of commerce. 
It grows on the sea islands of the Carolinas, and sells at 
from ten to eighteen cents a bushel, and I think there is 
money in it if cured for market. 

Full of the idea of my own importance, I set out for New 
York, and, finding a boarding-house, spent several days in 
hunting up a ship of size sufficient to satisfy my ambition. 
I was unsuccessful in all my efforts; for, although several 
magnificent vessels were ready for sea, their officers seemed 
to have nothing to say about shipping the crew. Speaking 
of this to my boarding-master, he burst into a scornful 
laugh at my verdancy, and asked me what ships I had visited. 
I named several, among them the Columbus, Captain Depey 
ster, of the famous " Black Ball Line" of Liverpool packets. 

"Why, you greeny," said the boarding-master, " the 
Columbus will haul out into the stream in a day or two; if 
you want to ship in her, I can fix it for you in half an hour, 
if you will agree to pay me ten dollars." 

To this exorbitant demand I assented, and was soon in a 
dingy office in South street, where, being introduced by my 
boarding-master, I was accepted without demur, and signed 



COLUMBUS. 8l 

articles as ordinary seaman for the voyage to Liverpool and 
back. The Columbus hauled into the stream next morning, 
and saying good-bye to my friends at the boarding-house, I 
went alongside, and made the best of my way to the fo'castle, 
and was delighted to find it well lighted, roomy, and com- 
fortable. 

Late in the afternoon I saw two large boats, which ap- 
peared to be very heavily laden, judging from the slow 
progress they were making, while if the erratic couise they 
were steering and the confused Babel of voices, shouting, 
cursing, swearing, yelling, and singing, were any criterion, 
their crews must have been drummed up in some inebriate 
asylum or some retreat for dangerous lunatics. 

"Come on deck, Huntington," said Mr. Cornish, our chief 
mate, to the second officer, who was down in the cabin. 
" Come on deck, and see the blankety blanked lubbers com- 
ing alongside. The drunken swabs are not fit to scrape the 
decks of a blubber-hunter. Stand by to wake 'em up with 

a little belaying-pin soup, Now, then, G — d d n your 

drunken souls, get on deck, and lay for'ard, will you ? Lay 
for'ard, do you hear ? What are you growling about, you 
blanked scoundrels ? Do you know where you are, eh ? 
I'll show you!" and, leaping down from the poop, he seized 
a belaying pin, and Huntington, second mate, doing the 
same, they began to belabor the heads and shoulders of the 
men, and hunted them for'ard like a flock of sheep, or rather 
like a drove of hogs, to the door of the fo'castle, heaving 
their bags in after them. 

Scarcely were the men in the fo'castle when they scram- 
bled into the first bunks they came to, and were soon sunk 
in a drunken sleep. 

And so, thought I, this is our crew, and this is life in the 
fo'castle; these are to be my messmates and Cornish and 
Huntington are to be my superior officers, whose every com- 
mand is to be obeyed, and (in appearance at least) cheerfully. 



82 HORRIFIED. 

Think as much as you please, but don t think too loud, is 
a very wise rule of conduct for a foremast hand. 

Sooth — to say, I was horrified and disgusted, and bitterly 
regretted leaving the homelike little Greenville and Valiant. 
But the die was cast and retreat impossible. There was 
nothing to do except to "grin and bear it." 

"Perhaps, after all, thought I, these disagreeable scenes 
may not occur again, and when Captain Depeyster comes 
aboard the mates will not dare to illtreat the men as they 
have done." 

With this faint attempt at consolation I fell asleep, only 
to be roused in a few moments by the gruff voice of Mr. 
Huntington calling me to stand " anchor watch." 

" You'll have to stay on deck pretty nearly all night, Davis," 
said he, " for every one of those scoundrels is dead drunk. 
Never mind, you can have a spell below during the fore- 
noon to-morrow, while we're rigging out the jib-boom and 
getting under way." 

With these words he left me utterly dumbfounded at 
the kindness of his tone, and the consideration which 
prompted his promise of a " spell below." 

After all, sailors are a queer compound of good and evil ; 
rough diamonds, whose best qualities lie hidden beneath a 
most unattractive exterior. 

At times I have felt shocked and indignant at the bru- 
tality with which officers have treated their crews; at others 
I have marvelled at their forbearance with the filthy, drunken 
and withal notorious ruffians, who, picked up in the slums 
of large seaport towns, are "shanghaied" aboard by the in- 
fernal scoundrels that infest " sailor towns" and gain a de- 
testable living by first pandering to the follies and vices of 
seamen, and then, having appropriated their advance and 
stolen their outfits, kidnap them on board ship and abandon 
them to the ill-treatment of their officers and the inclem- 
ency of the stormy Atlantic. 



ANCHOR WATCH. 83 

Strictly speaking, there should have been four of us on 
duty during the anchor watch, one for each gangway, one 
for the to'-gallant fo'castle, and another for the afterpart of 
the poop. As things were, Mr. Huntington stood watch aft 
for two hours, and was then relieved by the chief mate. The 
latter came forward, and, seeing me alone, was on the point 
of asking me some question when he suddenly turned on his 
heel, looked into the fo'castle, from which, even at my post, 
I could hear the heavy snoring of the men. The mate stood 
there a moment and then muttered some imprecation on the 
unconscious sleepers, coupled with a very audible reference 
to "hazing them." He strode fiercely to the quarter-deck, 
and spent his whole watch in walking up and down. He 
then went below and the second officer reappeared but did 
not come for'ard. 

At last, just as the stars were paling, and a faint gray 
streak appeared in the eastern sky, the chief mate came 
for'ard once more, and, seeing me still there, said abruptly: 

" Look here. What's your name ? Do you drink ?" 

" No, sir." 

" How long have you been to sea ?" 

" About two years and three months, sir." 

" In what sort of craft, and whose ?" 

I told him briefly. 

" Hum!" said he, thoughtfully, and then raising his fore- 
finger and holding it within an inch of my nose, he added: 

" Now, youngster, you just log down what I say. You're 
rather young to ship before the mast in as heavy a ship as 
this is, and you'll find that you have a rough lot of ship- 
mates in the fo'castle. Now, you just do your duty ship- 
shape and Bristol fashion, as well as you can. I'll choose 
you in my watch to-morrow and keep a weather eye on you. 
If you want to know how anything is to be done I'll tell 
you. And now, mind you, if any of those drunken swabs 
try to haze you, just let me know, and I'll give them a dose 



»4 BRISTOL FASHION. 

to make them remember Jim Cornish and the old Columbus. 
Where are your father and mother ? " 

I told him my history in a few words. 

" All right. Go below, now, and turn in ; I'll rouse you 
when I want you." 

Well, well! thought I, wonders will never cease, and I 
went below with a light heart and soon was in the land of 
dreams. 



Chapter IV. 

Get up, get up, for shame, the blooming morn 
Upon her wings presents the god unshorn. 
See how Aurora throws her fair 
Fresh-quilted colors through the air. 

" All hands up anchor. D'ye hear the news ? Come, 
turn out and pay for your lodging." Those words, shouted 
in a deep, gruff voice, awakened me, and I was on the point 
of obeying the order when I remembered that I had been 
told by my officers to stay below until called. 

Besides the fact that I was not at all eager to participate 
in the hurly-burly inseparable from heaving up anchor and 
making sail, I thought it good policy to show that I appre- 
:iated the favor granted me. 

The rest of the crew, aroused from their stupor by the re- 
peated summons of the mate, turned out cursing and swear- 
ing, eyeing one another in anything but a pleasant manner. 

Those who were most befuddled by their previous pota- 
tions were unceremoniously shaken into consciousness by 
their shipmates, and went on deck shivering and shaking 
like dogs in a wet sack. 

Soon after I heard the clank of the windlass and the voice 
of the mate. " Start him up there. Make a noise some of 
you. Let's have something." 

But the men had a dim remembrance of their treatment 
the day before, and they wouldn't sing. Besides their pipes 
were out of tune. Their advance was gone, their clothes 
gone, their voices gone, and they couldn't sing; so the anchor 
was hove up in silence. 

The tug now took our hawser and we were towed down 
the bay until we had got outside of the bar. 

I now determined to go on deck and do my share of the 



86 BELAYING PIN. 

work, and was in time to witness a scene which made my 
blood run cold. 

" Lee main braces," shouted the mate. The men who, in 
their demoralized state, had no more spirit than so many 
hares, ran aft to the braces; one seaman, however, a fine- 
looking fellow, a native of Chili, as he afterwards told me, 
was somewhat behind the others. In a moment Cornish 
was upon him with an iron belaying-pin raised. " You black 

, I'll teach you to ' soger' aboard this ship." Down 

came the belaying-pin with a sickening thud upon the man's 
head, and he fell senseless to the deck, whence he had to be 
carried still insensible into the fo'castle. 

This dreadful scene still further demoralized the crew, 
and those who were naturally timid, realizing their disad- 
vantageous position on account of their prolonged spree, 
were painfully precipitate in their hurry to obey; those who 
were used to the life in the Liverpool packets, and who were 
case-hardened, scowled darkly and seemed to be registering 
a vow that " they'd square yards with Jim Cornish before 
reaching Tuskar light." The evil effects of this feeling were 
soon made manifest. 

All sail had been made, the tug had bidden us adieu, and 
we remained with the maintopsail aback, waiting for the 
steamboat which was to bring the captain and cabin passen- 
gers. 

" Furl the royals. Lay aloft there, lively, some of you 
youngsters." Nimble as a cat and eager to distinguish 
myself, I was in the maintop-mast rigging before the others 
were half way to the futtock shrouds. 

Young as I was I was healthier, stronger, more active, and, 
above all, more willing than my friends on the fore and 
mizzen, so that I had the bunt of the sail up on the yard, 
and was reaching for the gasket before either of them had 
reached their yards. 

I was making the bunt gasket fast to the yard rope when 



FALL FROM ALOFT. 87 

I heard a crash, a fearful shriek, and the next moment saw 
the poor fellow who had been in the fore-royal yard, pre- 
cipitated from that dreadful height, his head striking the 
cross-trees and toprim, and his body coming in contact with 
the lower sternsail boom, thence falling overboard it was 
lost to sight. Clots of dark blood were on the cross-trees, 
toprim top of the boom, and the deck was bespattered with 
his brains. Poor fellow! his fearful death was due to his 
drunken shipmates, who, full of rum, hauled too taut on the 
braces in laying the yard, and carried it away. This was, 
indeed, a most inauspicious beginning. How I managed to 
finish furling the sail and lay down from aloft I know not; 
but I do know that on reaching the comparative terra fir ma 
of the deck I was taken most violently sick, and had to pay 
tribute to Daddy Neptune, like the veriest landsman. 

At this moment the steamboat came alongside with the 
captain and the cabin passengers. The captain, after shaking 
hands with the mates was on the point of escorting the pas- 
sengers aft to the quarter-deck, when his quick eye caught 
the absence of the fore-royal yard from its accustomed 
perch, and, walking a few steps forward, saw the signs of 
blood on the deck. Hurriedly excusing himself he confided 
the passengers to the care of the steward, and when the last 
of them had disappeared he returned quickly to the mate? 
and, in stern, imperious tone, said: 

" What's the meaning of this, Mr. Cornish ? " 
" Why, sir, these drunken fellows hauled so taut on the 
fore-royal braces that they carried away the yard, and one 
of the light hands fell and knocked his brains out." 

" My God! this is awful. Have you recovered the body ? " 

" No, sir!" said the mate; " it sank immediately." 

" Poor fellow! poor fellow!" said the captain. " Well, Mr. 

Cornish, fill away and let the ship stand on her course. By 

the way, you may as well choose watches and give the men 



88 CAPTAIN DEPEYSTER. 

a watch below; some of them look as if they wanted it pretty 
badly." 

" Aye, aye, sir," said Cornish, and the captain went aft. 

The crew had been attentive listeners to this conversa- 
tion, and their first impressions of Captain Depeyster was 
extremely favorable. He was unanimously voted a real gen- 
tleman; no " raw-head-and-bloody-bones" about him. 

I am glad to say that he improved on further acquaint- 
ance, and was as able an officer as he was a thorough gen- 
tleman. 

He was a native of Guernsey, of the Channel Islands, and 
was at that time somewhat past forty years of age. His olive 
complexion, clean-cut features, raven black hair and pierc- 
ing eyes bore testimony to his French lineage. 

Mr. Cornish, the chief mate, was a tall, wiry Englishman, 
born in the vicinity of Liverpool, and his florid complexion 
and red hair and beard were true indexes to the irascible 
and tyrannical nature within. He was a born bully, and, 
like all bullies, a despicable coward. He was, at the time I 
had the misfortune of knowing him, about thirty-two years 
of age, and, to give the devil his due, an active, vigilant and 
efficient officer. He afterwards became captain of the 
She?'idan, a packet of the " Dramatic Line." 

Mr. Huntington, the second mate, although the senior of 
Mr. Cornish by several years (he was over forty) was by no 
means as good an officer. He was thoroughly under Cor- 
nish's thumb, and seemed to pride in vieing with him in ill- 
treatment of the crew. He was from Rhode Island. 

Now came the time to choose watches, and, as some of my 
readers may not understand this technical expression, I beg 
leave to explain it. 

On board merchant ships the crew is divided into two 
parts, one called the starboard and the other the larboard or 
port watch. The port watch is commanded by the chief 



CHOOSING WATCHES. 89 

mate, the starboard watch by the second mate, who acts as 
the captain's representative. 

These watches are on duty alternately, four hours on and 
four off, with an exception to be noted hereafter. The time 
is marked not by the hourly striking of a clock, but by the 
tolling of a bell every half hour. 

Eight bells, that is, eight strokes of the bell, announce 
four, eight, or twelve o'clock; at every half hour after any 
one of those hours the bell is struck once, twice, thrice, and 
so on, denoting the half hours as they pass, until eight bells 
is struck, and the watch is changed. 

This arrangement, if not modified, would divide the 
twenty-four hours into six parts of four hours each, and the 
same watch would be on duty during the same hours day 
and night for the whole voyage. This would be very unfair 
to the watch, which would have to be on deck in all sorts of 
weather, from four to eight in the evening, and from mid- 
night until four in the morning. To avoid this, the evening 
watch from four to eight is divided into two parts, called the 
first and second dog (/. e., dodge) watches, the first being 
from four to six, and the second from six to eight; the 
twenty-four hours are thus divided into seven parts, and by 
this device the required alternation of watches is attained. 

" Lay aft, here, all of you," said the mate, and we all 
walked aft to the waist, and stood in single file along the 
deck, the officers standing on the main hatch. 

The second mate, as the captain's representative, chose 
first, and then the chief mate did me the honor of being his 
first choice for the port watch. This was continued until 
all were chosen, and the chief mate sang out, " Port watch, 
go below," setting the example himself by turning on his 
heel, and going aft into the cabin, leaving Mr. Huntington 
and the starboard watch on duty. 

We were now well clear of the land, bowling along with 
all stun' sails set. 



90 BLUBBER HUNTERS. 

I had now to make the acquaintance of my mates of the 
port watch, and acquire my first experience of life in the 
fo'castle of a Liverpool packet. 

Even at the period of which I write, although emigration 
from the Old World was as yet in its infancy when compared 
with the gigantic proportions it afterwards assumed, the 
sailors who manned the passenger vessels between the ports 
of Great Britain, Northern Europe, and New York formed 
a class by themselves. Rarely, if ever, extending their 
voyages beyond the North Atlantic (nautical, the Western 
Ocean), and shipping, whenever it was possible, in some of 
the numberless packets, which then afforded the only means 
by which emigrants could reach the promised land of 
America, they were looked down upon by their brother tars 
of the merchant-service, who styled themselves " deep sea 
sailors," disclaimed all kinship with " packet rats," and 
"Western Ocean laborers," ranking themselves in the same 
category as "blubber hunters" (whalemen). These latter 
being, for the most part, quiet, sedate fellows, recruited 
principally from the country districts of New England, had 
no great love for either sea or seamen. They regarded the 
sea, the ship, and the rudiments of seamanship as they would 
the implements and the elementary knowledge of any other 
trade — namely, as means to attain the end proposed, which 
was nothing higher or more romantic than to get as much 
oil as possible, and retire upon their earnings to the seclusion 
of their native villages, and buy a few acres of ground, or 
start a country inn. To them the swaggering, roystering 
packet sailor was an enigma, an object of apprehension and 
disgust. It is needless to add that the gentlemen in " blue 
coats and brass buttons," viewing with the disdain born of 
conscious superiority all classes of seamen except their own, 
had a special contempt for the mariners of the "Black Ball," 
"Black Star," " Tapscott," " S wallow-Tail," and numerous 
other lines. 




JACK ASHORE. 



9 2 



SAILORS. 



Whatever may have been the origin of this aversion, it 
certainly existed, and the packet sailors, actuated, perhaps, 
by sheer bravado, or by a determination to have the game 
as well as the name, drew deeper and broader the line which 
separated them from other seamen. 

Ashore they were to be found in the haunts of vice and 
drunkenness moored head and stern in the grog-shop, in- 
separable from the lower class of sailor boarding-houses, 




JACK TARS ON LAND. 

until their money gave out, when they would be very bluntly 
ordered to look for a ship. In the street, dirty, drunk, and 
blasphemous, they were the "b y sailor " all out. Roll- 
ing down Waterloo Road, perpetually making short tacks 
across the sidewalk, with a battered sou'wester, red or blue 
flannel shirt, belt, and huge sheath or enormous clasp-knife, 
tarry trousers tucked into his sea-boots, his cheek bulging 
out with a "chaw," and his mouth, lips and chin soiled with 
tobacco juice, he reflected but little credit upon the noble 
calling which he claimed to represent. 



OUTFIT. 



93 



And yet, despite their swagger and bravado, they have 
little of the jaunty independence of the fine seaman; their 
rollicking, boisterous, roystering ways too often are the un- 
availing mask of hearts soured and discontented. 

The lamentable truth is that they are not free agents, but 
are bound hand and foot by the chains forged by their own 
follies and vices. Their wages, small or large, are squan- 
dered in riotous profusion; they are then dependent upon 
rapacious boarding-masters for every morsel they eat until 
they succeed in getting a ship; their advance is rarely more 
than sufficient to meet the exhorbitant charges made for 
food and drink; and, unable to purchase even the most 
necessary articles of a sailor's outfit, they are too often com- 
pelled to face the terrible hardships of a mid-winter passage 
across the Atlantic without a pea-jacket, a pair of sea-boots, 
a suit of oil-skins, or a sou'wester. 

Unfortunately, rum of the vilest quality is never wanting, 
and their last night on shore is spent in drunken revelry, 
encouraged by the watchful boarding-master, who, having 
drawn their advance at his favorite shipping-office, is held 
responsible for the appearance of his men on board at the 
specified time. It was his cue to egg on the men to drink 
themselves into a state of insensibility, in which condition 
they were carried down to the landing-stage, hustled into a 
boat, and huddled aboard the ship like so many bales of 
rags. What reception awaited them on deck, and what their 
treatment was next morning, I have endeavored to describe. 
For humanity's sake, let us hope that the Cornish style of 
officer has ceased to exist. 

Besides, the weather in the North Atlantic, is, as a rule, 
boisterous, and permits few opportunities for real seaman- 
like work. Hence it follows that although in quickness in 
making sail, reefing or furling, they have few equals, yet the 
more scientific part of a seaman's avocation is never learned, 
or if learned, very soon forgotton through want of practise. 



94 FO CASTLE MORALS. 

Roaming from ship to ship, seldom remaining in any one 
more than a voyage at a time, and remembering of each 
only the amount of hardships endured, and the cruel tyranny 
of such a mate or such a captain, it inevitably follows that 
they have no affection for any ship, nor pride in her repu- 
tation. 

Let not my readers imagine that this description of the 
packet sailor is intended to apply to all. There are many, 
very many exceptions; men who lead sober, chaste, indus- 
trious lives; married men with helpless little families, who 
have been compelled to adopt this life on account of the 
shortness of the voyage and the high rate of wages; men 
who, worthy of all praise as faithful husbands and loving, 
self-sacrificing parents, are, at the same time, models of en- 
durance, having in privation and hardship, and in the hour 
of danger, the education, skill, and all that constitutes true 
seamanship. 

But while in the fo'castle the follies and vices of the many 
are redeemed by the virtues of the few, the tyranny and 
cruelty of the inmates of the cabin are almost without ex- 
ception. Numberless are the Cornishes and Huntingtons, 
few indeed the Depeysters. 

And here, let me say to my friends on shore who have 
never sailed the ocean blue, do not imagine that the acts 
of tyranny and brutality described in these pages are in- 
vented and exaggerated, or painted in too lively colors. I 
solemnly aver that they are strictly true. In describing 
them I have "naught extenuated, nor aught set down in 
malice." In proof of this I refer you to the records of our 
courts and the files of our own daily papers. It was only a 
few days ago, December 16-22, 1884, that I read in one of 
our New York papers of the trial of the captain of the /. M. 
Chapman, an American vessel, for murder. That worthy 
had, for some trifling offence, seized up by the thumbs a 
Russian sailor, and kept him in torture until the man died 



sailors' home. 95 

The newspapers report all such cases in our day, but " such 
shames are common." 

But revenous a nos moutons, or rather let us go down 
into the fo'castle of the Columbus. 

Let our kind reader imagine himself opposite a low and 
narrow doorway, from which dirty and greasy steps descend 
almost perpendicularly into the obscurity below. Dark and 
dismal is the pit most certainly, and it is the source of as 
many separate and distinct varieties of noisome odors as the 
far-famed City of Cologne; strange noises, too, in the shape 
of indistinct mutterings and deep-drawn growls and unmu- 
sical snores issue from the cavern, and uncouth figures flit 
to and fro in the obscurity. 

This, my cabin friend, is the fo'castle, the home of the 
sailor. Be not afraid; pluck up courage and let us descend. 
I can promise neither edification nor amusement, but can 
most certainly guarantee that your adventure shall be free 
from peril and replete with novelty. 

These steps are rather slippery, and, as the ship is begin- 
ning to roll somewhat, you had better descend with your 
face to the ladder and your hands on the sides. Unless you 
adopt that precaution your descent may be undesirably 
rapid, and your introduction to the sailors' quarters unac- 
companied by that easy grace and languid interest which 
betokens those of the ship's company who inhabit that part 
of the ship which lies abaft the main-mast. 

There, that was well done! Here you are, then. Now, 
keep a good hold of that stanchion and look around you. 
Take care not to let your feet slip on the deck, as she rolls 
to leeward. 

You must excuse the disorder in which you find us ; Ave 
have just moved in, and everything is at the bottom and 
nothing on top; the servants have not scrubbed the floor yet, 
and may forget to do so, and our new carpet has not been 
unpacked ; but in a few days we shall have our chandeliers 



g6 DINING ROOM. 

up and the curtains hung in front of our berths, and then 
we shall set our table and bring out our china, and plates, 
and knives and forks. 

Yes, it does look rather odd. The triangular shape of our 
apartments, and the constant thundering of the seas at our 
very ears are not conducive to slumber. In fact, we were 
on the point of remonstrating with the captain, and request- 
ing him either to alter the course of the ship so as to avoid 
the annoyance, or to assign us quarters in another part of 
the vessel. The cabin itself would not be too good for us. 

Much more valuable and correct information would I have 
imparted to my inquisitive friend had not a terrific explo- 
sion of laughter burst from the recesses of the fo'castle, in 
which I was forced to join; whereupon my friend, in a state 
of thorough mystification and no small alarm, beat a precip- 
itate and very undignified retreat up the steps, and stopped 
not until he had gained the poop, where, to judge from Cap- 
tain Depeyster's merriment, he was relating to that officer 
the strange and exciting experience of his first, and, no 
doubt, last visit to the quarters of the "common sailors." 

Well, the fo'castle was, like other fo'castles, triangular in 
shape, because inside the bow of the ship; two rows of bunks 
extended on each side of the bulkhead which" separated the 
fo'castle from the between decks. The bottom of the lower 
bunks was about two feet from the fo'castle deck, the 
bottom of the upper bunk about three feet from the deck, 
and three feet between both bottoms, making the height in 
the fo'castle eight feet. 

The sea-chests of the crew were securely lashed at the 
foot of the owners' bunks, and served a double purpose, 
namely, as receptacles for clothes and tobacco, with mend- 
ing gear, and as seats on which their owners sat to enjoy 
their frugal meals. 

Sooth to say, the crew of the good ship Columbus were, 
for the most part, in no very great need of sea-chests. Like 



LIFE ABOARD 97 

Paddy, who, when asked why he did not get a chest to put 
his clothes in, very naively and inquiringly answered, " And 
me go naked ? " 

My shipmates, thanks to the attentions of the pawn- 
broker, the rum-seller, and the boarding-master, were com- 
paratively unimpeded with baggage, and not a few veterans 
faced the winds and waves of the North Atlantic in a sui' 
of dungaree. 

To describe at length the attire of the crew, their food, 
drink, and bedding, the routine of their life at sea, and the 
hardships inseparable therefrom, would be, in my humble 
. opinion, a waste of words, because there was, and is, in such 
cases a never-ending variety of dress. The jolly-sad poet, 
Thomas Hood, has touched off many a point in Jack's rig, 
one of which I quote here: 

" His hat was new, or, newly glazed, 

Shone brightly in the sun ; 
His jacket, like a mariner's, 

True blue as e'er was spun ; 
His ample trousers, like St. Paul, 

Bore forty stripes in one." 

Many, very many, of my readers have had ample oppor- 
tunity for seeing for themselves what my pen could by no 
means describe to my satisfaction; and those who have 
never ploughed the briny deep have, if they indulge in 
maritime literature, read and re-read graphic descriptions 
of life in the fo'castle. To surpass, or even to rival, those 
pen-pictures would necessitate a more facile pen, and an 
imagination more fertile and more vivid than I possess. 

In sober truth, Jack's life in the fo'castle is very dull, and 
intolerably prosaic. 

His clothing, something like Joseph's coat, is of many 
colors, and of many patches. 

His menu is tough salt beef, very lean or very fat; mouldy 
and measly pork; biscuits remarkable for age and tough- 
ness, and for the weevils which therein do live and thrive. 
Milk is known to him by name; sugar is represented by 



98 jack's quarters. 

molasses, and the tea and coffee so sweetened are fearful 
and wonderful decoctions of some herb or bean unknown to 
the denizens of Araby the blest, or the almond-eyed dwellers 
in far Cathay. The use of canned milk and vegetables has 
come into vogue since I left the salt sea, but I presume Jack 
has heard very little of it. 

The crew of the Columbus was the usual mixture of good, 
bad and indifferent. Passable seaman, but unpleasant ship- 
mates. Few days passed without a wordy wrangle, which 
not unfrequently ended in blows. Thrown together for a 
few weeks, they did not form, nor did they care to form, 
those friendships so usual among seamen accustomed to long 
voyages. 

For the ship they had no affection; for their officers, 
with the exception of Captain Depeyster, they felt the most 
bitter dislike, and longed for a quick run, which would enable 
them to desert before their month was up, and afford them 
an opportunity to square yards with " Jimmy Cornish, and 
that slab-sided, lantern-jawed sneak of a Huntington.' 

As the winds continued favorable, and as Captain Depey- 
ster was famous for carrying on a press of sail, we made a 
splendid run across, and in sixteen days sighted Tuskar 
Light. Next day, being abreast of Holyhead, we took a 
pilot, and soon afterwards a powerful tug took our hawser, 
and before night we were in Prince's Dock. 

Scarcely had the ship's bow touched the pier-head, when 
half the crew leaped ashore, and went scurrying like mad- 
men towards the gates. Foremost among them was the 
Chilian whom the chief mate had knocked down off Sandy 
Hook. Pursuit was useless, and Cornish had to content 
himself with a volley of imprecations against the delinquents. 

As the dock regulations forbid the use of fires or lights, 
the crews of all vessels have to board on shore. Our men 
boarded with a Mrs. Hughes, in Union street, near the 
dock, but long before the Columbus was ready for her voyage 



LIVERPOOL. 99 

home, her ship's company was reduced to five, myself in- 
cluded. 

Even the four who remained with me would have followed 
the example of their shipmates were it not that they were 
married men, and thus mutually desirous to revisit their 
families in New York. 



SAILOR BOARDING HOUSE. 

Of Liverpool, I saw very little, and that little was " Sailor 
Town." 

At last the Columbus was ready for sea; we hauled out of 
the dock, and made fast to the pier-head outside the dock- 
gates, where we received about 700 steerage and ninety 



IOO NO CREW. 

cabin passengers, and where we were to lay until our crew 
should be recruited up to its complement. 

We were now destined to experience some more of the 
consequences of Cornish's and Huntington's brutality. The 
men who had made the passage with us from New York had 
not failed to describe, in the most vivid language, the tyran- 
nical conduct of that worthy pair, and the Chilian, well 
known in more than one boarding-house and shipping-office, 
and universally respected as a quiet, sober, and most thorough 
seaman, was questioned again and again, and forced to re- 
peat all the circumstances of his ill-treatment by Cornish, 
until the Columbus achieved a most unenviable notoriety, 
and was not unfrequently spoken of as the "hell afloat." 

Now, reckless as that class of seamen are usually, they do 
not fancy insults, curses, blows, and kicks as a steady diet 
more than other men; and they know that to submit to such 
treatment is worse than negro slavery, and to resent it, 
mutiny or death. 

It is, "kill or be killed;" and the alternative is not pleas- 
ant to contemplate. 

Hence the shipping articles of the Columbus remained un- 
signed for eight days, with our passengers aboard, pilot 
engaged, and tug Avaiting all that time, with a fine spell of 
easterly winds blowing, while we were endeavoring to ship 
our crew. 

At last, urged on by their boarding-house keepers, taunted 
with cowardice, and, above all, forced by their own necessi- 
ties, a gang of men walked down to the shipping-office, and 
signed articles. 

Having thus bound themselves, they met the inquisitive 
questions of their friends and the rough bantering of their 
acquaintances with resolute silence, and, refusing all invita- 
tions to drink, they marched off to one of the boarding- 
houses, and had a long conversation, the results of which 
became apparent during the course of the voyage home. 



NEW CREW. IOI 

Meanwhile, Cornish and Huntington were in a frenzy of 
passion. Captain Depeyster was out of temper at the delay, 
and fumed at seeing ship after ship leave the docks, get its 
crew aboard, and proceed to sea, with rousing songs, salut- 
ing our ship in passing with derisive groans as " Old hell 
afloat." Perfectly aware of the causes which led to this 
disgrace, he summoned Cornish and Huntington to him, and 
gave them both a sound rating, which added fresh fuel to 
their wrath. 

Well, one fine morning while the captain and both mates 
were moodily pacing the quarter-deck their attention was 
suddenly riveted towards a gang of men marching from the 
direction of the boarding houses on Gibraltar row, and 
coming toward the pier-head to which we were fast. 

They were our long-expected crew. They halted at our 
gangway, and, springing lightly on deck, they assisted one 
another to get their dunnage on board, and carried forward, 
whither they followed it. They were evidently acquainted 
with one another for some time, for it was Joe, Bill, Tom, 
Dick and Charlie, whenever anything was needed. 

The captain and officers looked on in silence, and the 
former beckoning to the clerk from the shipping-office, had 
an earnest conversation with him near the taffrail. 

We who had made the voyage out in the Columbus were 
delighted at the stalwart appearance of our new shipmates, 
and gave them a right hearty welcome to the fo'castle. Every 
man of them was perfectly sober, and they seemed to know 
all about the ship, as if they had been apprenticed aboard 
of her. 

To our stories about Cornish and Huntington their stereo- 
typed reply was but a muttered oath, and a dark and mean- 
ing glance under their eyebrows at one another. 

Finally, as the summons: "All hands on deck! " broke up 
our conference, one of them, who had hitherto listened in 
silence, " Joe Winrow" by name, brought his fist down on 



102 TROUBLE AHEAD. 

his sea-chest with a blow like that of a pile-driver, and, in a 
voice husky with suppressed passion, said: "The man that 
lays a finger on any one of us shall have to tackle me, or my 
name's not Winrow! " " That's so, Joe! So say we all. Aye, 
aye," rose in loud chorus from all hands. 

" Well, then, belay that ; haul in the slack of your jaw- 
tackle and lay on deck. Here comes some one of the after- 
guard." 

" Fo'castle, there. Bear a hand." 

" Aye, aye, sir!" and, after a gesture of caution from Win- 
row, we hurried on deck. 

Then, indeed, we of the old crew realized the value of our 
new shipmates. The tug was ahead and a pilot on board. 
A heaving-line was hove on board of us for the hawser, 
which was payed out and double-bitted, at the same time 
the pier-head fasts were hauled on board, the tug started, 
and we were homeward bound. 

Then came the order: "Set the topsails, jib spanker and 
courses." The men sprang aloft like squirrels, and after 
letting the topsails fall, and, sliding down the backstays, 
hauled home the sheets, and, with a rousing chorus, mast- 
headed the yards, which were braced to a firm breeze from 
east sou'east. Meanwhile the jib, spanker and courses had 
been loosed, tacks boarded and sheets trimmed down. By 
this time the tug had let go of our hawser; hands now sprang 
aloft to loose to' -gallant sails while the hawser was being 
hauled on board and coiled away on the fore-hatch. Top- 
gallant sails were now set and decks cleared, and running 
rigging coiled up, and every movable about deck lashed. 

All orders were anticipated, the men were on the spot ere 
the words were spoken. 

Evidently, we had a picked crew, for they resembled one 
another not only in bodily proportions, but also in ability 
as seamen. 

" Got a fine crew, there, Captain," said the pilot, a veteran 



CAPTAIN S EYE. IO3 

whose grizzly beard well nigh covered a face on which many 
a year of hardship had left its imprint. " Fine crew, sir. 
Many of them fellows has sailed out of Liverpool for nigh 
onto twenty years. They're no or'narys, I can tell ye." 

The captain nodded assent. He had been intently watch- 
ing every movement of the men from the moment they came 
on board. His face had lighted up with pleasure when he 
saw the rapidity with which sail had been made on the ship, 
and the intelligent alacrity that proved their proficiency in 
seamanship; yet now, as the pilot spoke, a cloud came over 
the captain's face and he glanced uneasily towards the spot 
where Cornish was standing. 

" Yes; they seem to be fine active fellows, pilot. I hope 
we shall have a pleasant passage, and sight the Highland 
lights three weeks from to-day. We've lost too much time 
already waiting for our crew; now that we have them I trust 
our trouble is over." 

"Yes, I heard about that," said the pilot; "that boy that 
was lost from the fore-royal yard left a widowed mother in 
Union street, and that other fellow, a sort of dog, or some 
sort of a foreigner, has been telling queer stories about the 
mates. Mr. Cornish didn't go ashore much, eh ? 'Twouldn't 
have been healthy for him to cruise around Gibralter Row 
after dark. 'Twould be good-bye, Cornish, I tell you." 

" That's what troubles me," said Captain Depeyster; " I 
fear some altercation between the mates and the men." 

" And a haltercation they'll have, I'll be bound, with a 
halter in it for somebody, if Cornish or Huntington tries 
any of their didoes with them fellows." 

Good for you, old surly, thought I, as I passed around 
the poop, eagerly drinking in every word uttered. At this 
rate belaying pins won't be flying around quite so lively as 
they were off the Hook. 

In a few hours we were abreast of Holyhead, when, 
after discharging our pilot, we set all royals and flying-jib 



104 CHOOSING WATCHES. 

with all our larboard stern-sails, and stood down channel 
with the wind a little abaft the beam. 

The watches were now chosen, and the old hands of the 
Columbus seemed to have the preference, a significant fact 
which caused looks of covert meaning to pass among the 
new-comers. 

I found myself again in the chief mate's watch with two 
of my old shipmates and ten others. 

"Joe Winrow" was in the starboard watch, being the very 
last man chosen, a slight which he met with the most per- 
fect indifference, correctly attributing it to its true source. 

All hands were kept on deck during the first day, and the 
wind continuing to blow from the east sou'east the men were 
not disturbed during the night. 

Next day, being now abreast of Tuskar Rock, and the 
wind hauling more aft, all hands were kept busy getting 
everything shipshape. 

About two in the afternoon (the wind having hauled 
round to our starboard quarter, we were shifting our stun' 
sails over to starboard), one of the new hands, Cornelius 
Emery, "a Boston boy," was aloft on the starboard foretop 
sail yard-arm, rigging out the fo'to'-gallant-stun' sail boom, 
when the second mate, Huntington, wishing, no doubt, to 
assert his authority, sung out: "Bear a hand, you son of a 

b h ! " The new comers, scattered all over the deck, 

cast a glance aloft to see who was thus addressed, and an 
ominous tightening of belts ensued. Cornelius Emery in- 
stantly laid in from the yard-arm, and, shaking himself well 
together, came rapidly down the fore-rigging, and, jumping 
on deck, made a rush for the astounded Huntington, knock- 
ing him down and kicking him. Huntington shouted for 
assistance, and Cornish, hearing the uproar, first shouted 
for Captain Depeyster, and then, armed with his favorite 
weapon, an iron belaying-pin, came rushing forward, froth- 
ing with rage. 



TROUBLE. I05 

" I'll teach you, you mutinous scoundrel. I'll let you 
know that " 

His didactics were cut short. Starting from his work in 
the fore-rigging, " Joe Winrow " thrust his athletic form 
between Emery and the chief mate, wrenched the belaying- 
pin out of his grasp, and then with one terrific blow split his 
cheek from his eye to his mouth, and tumbled him in a heap 
upon the deck, the blood spouting in torrents from the 
wound. 

" You wanted first blood, did you ? Now you've got it ! 
I've writ ' Joe Winrow, his mark,' on your figure-head, any 
how. Let the beggars up, Corneil; here comes the after- 
guard." 

Sure enough, Captain Depeyster, hurrying on deck upon 
Cornish's call, was just in time to see Huntington lying 
helpless, Cornish felled like a log by "Joe Winrow," and the 
whole crew rushing to take part in the fray. Fearing the 
worst, he hurried into the cabin, and opening the arm-chest, 
distributed pistols to the more resolute of the cabin passen- 
gers, and, hastily explaining to them the dangerous turn 
things had taken, bade them follow him and returned on 
deck. 

"Joe Winrow," who was now tacitly acknowledged as 
leader, saw the captain come on deck and return to the 
cabin. Divining his purpose he determined to prepare for 
defense. 

" See here, lads, them two fellows aren't so badly hurt 
but what they can point a pistol. The old man will muster 
the cabin gang. Any of you got pistols better get them 
lively. Jump for them capstan bars and handspikes; get 
them heavers, some of you." 

We were pretty well armed, and had thrown up a sort of 
breastwork across decks, when the captain appeared with 
the officers and about ten of the cabin passengers. 

Cornish and Huntington had had their wounds dressed, 



106 SHOOT 'em. 

and now advanced flourishing their pistols, Cornish breath 
ing death and destruction. The captain, when he saw the 
barricade and the whole ship's company ranged, armed, silent 
and resolute behind it, grew pale, and, turning aft, began a 
hurried consultation with the passengers. 

This hesitation did not satisfy the officers, and they 
vehemently insisted upon crushing out the mutiny and 
making an example of the ringleaders. They were exaspe- 
rated beyond endurance by the indifference with which De- 
peyster treated their alleged injuries and wrongs, and con- 
tinued to demand that measures should be adopted which 
would strike terror into the hearts of the crew. 

The captain now came forward to within a few feet of 
our barricade, motioning to the others to remain at the 
main hatch. 

" Now, men," began he " Put the scoundrels in 

irons," shouted Huntington. " No parleying with muti- 
neers, Captain Depeyster. Come on; let's shoot them like 
dogs," roared Cornish. 

" Mr. Huntington, you may retire to the quarter-deck. 
Mr. Cornish, go to your state-room; you are relieved from 
duty until further orders." 

At these words Cornish and Huntington slunk away like 
whipped curs, and the men raised a hearty shout, " Hurrah 
for Captain Depeyster," and, throwing down their weapons, 
removed the barricade and came to meet him. 

" Now, men; now, men; what's all this? What's the use of 
all this? Come, now, turn to and let's hear no more of it." 

" Captain Depeyster, sir, we all know you, a gentleman 
and a seaman; and we know Cornish and Huntington, and 
they're a pair of d — d tyrants. Now, if this thing is to be 
called square we're satisfied, always providing that you let 
them gents understand that they're not going to kill anyone 
on this passage if we can help it." 



MUTINY ENDED. 107 

" Well, so be it, my men, and now turn to and do your 
duty like men." 

" Aye, aye, captain," and so the " mutiny" ended. 

" Joe Winrow," the ringleader in this, died last winter in 
San Francisco at the age of 75 years. — 1884. 

" A true and ardent vindicator of human rights." — Davis. 

Huntington reappeared sulky and crest-fallen. Cornish 
remained below for two or three days, and whether from 
loss of blood or from fear of losing his position in the 
" line" and imperiling his prospects for promotion, he was 
very quiet and dejected during the rest of the passage. 

Thus did a few resolute men establish their right to 
decent treatment before we were clear of St. George's 
Channel. But how seldom is there courage and resolution 
enough on board a vessel to resist cruel officers. The 
majesty of the law is ever at the back of the officers but is so 
slow to defend poor Jack. As this proof-sheet was passing 
under my eye I noticed, in the New York Daily Sun of 
June 25th, that the New York Society for the Prevention of 
Cruelty to Sailors has been incorporated by Hamilton Fish, 
August Belmont, Cyrus W. Field, Elbridge T. Gerry, Elihu 
Root, Cornelius N. Bliss, Chester A. Arthur, John T. Agnew, 
William B. Dinsmore, Henry Bergh, Richard A. Elmer, Ed- 
ward Schell, and John E. Develin. It proposes to help the 
law look after poor Jack and those who ill treat and rob 
him, and to promote his physical and moral welfare. I 
feel sure that these men intend to carry out their declaration 
to benefit poor Jack, and sincerely hope that no wolf in 
sheep's clothing, or shark in disguise, will succeed in thwart- 
ing their endeavors. There has been a great change since 
Cornish's day. Cruelty to a seaman, if it results seriously, 
is sometimes brought into court, as the newspapers report. 
But why not establish the rule that ruffianly conduct on ship- 
board, as well as on land, is all the same ? No employer on 



108 MUTINY ENDED. 

land drives his men around with a marlinspike or crowbar, 
or if he does, to the serious injury of a man, the courts can 
be appealed to at once. On sea the laborer is more precious 
than on land, because if killed or lost overboard, he cannot 
be replaced so readily as on land, and the protection of the 
law should be the more certain against all wrongs. Until 
that is true, and known to be so by seamen, every sailor is 
a possible mutineer in self-defense, when officered by Hunt- 
ingtons and Cornishes. And while we are overhauling this 
part of our ship's log, it may be well to reel off one of the 
many yarns that were spun in the fo'castle, and which was 
suggested by our recent experience. We had only the pre- 
monitory symptoms of a mutiny, and they were allayed by a 
kind-hearted and sensible captain; but mutinies do occur 
from brutal treatment and bad grub, as the tale I am about 
to repeat shows. 

When you come to speak of dreadful things, you may set 
it down that a mutiny at sea can be classed first. It is in 
most cases the turning of the worm. Men who have had it 
drilled into them for years that they must put up with such 
food as hogs would refuse, obey every order without ques- 
tion, peril their lives at the word, cringe and tremble before 
one of their own species because he is in authority, are not 
to be driven into mutiny on the high seas without extreme 
provocation. 

When the worm turns, then look out ! 

Your cringing foremast hand, who only the day before 
thanked the mate for knocking him down, may be a tyrant 
in turn. 

The ship becomes a floating hell. The slaves of yester- 
day are the masters to-day. If once they take the step 
which renders them mutineers, they will not hesitate to go 
further, and add murder to the crime. 

This is how Jack Allen, of Providence, R. I., spun his 
yarn: 



JACK ALLEN S YARN. I09 

In the year 1845, after having served on coasting vessels for 
several years, and made one voyage from New York to Liv- 
erpool, I shipped as second mate on the bark Medway, bound 
from San Francisco to the Sandwich Islands, and thence 
on a trading voyage to the islands of the southwest. The 
bark was a small one, but a good sailer, and a dry ship, and 
I believed I was in luck in securing my berth. The captain, 
whose name was Burrows, seemed a very pleasant man, 
making use of no profane language, and appearing to be as 
mild-tempered as a parson. Mind you, I am giving my 
first impressions as I sized him up while we yet lay at the 
wharf. I shipped at Honolulu, the bark having already 
completed the first part of her voyage. I heard rumors to 
the effect that her whole crew deserted her on her arrival at 
the islands, but rumors among sailors are not to be depended 
on, and I gave the matter no investigation, though I saw 
that she was shipping a fresh crew. We left Honolulu with 
twelve men before the mast, and we were not yet off sound- 
ings when trouble began. The meat which had been boil- 
ing away in the cook's coppers during the forenoon gave 
out strange odors. From the whiffs I had caught now and 
then I knew something was wrong, and when the meat was 
carried forward in the kids at noon the stench was enough 
to turn one's stomach. The mate, whose name was Berry, 
saw that I was surprised such meat should be placed before 
the men on a voyage just begun, and he growled: 

"Ah, d n 'em; it's too good for such as they. Just 

let me catch 'em making a fuss over it, and I'll work up their 
old iron in a way to open their eyes ! " 

I was astounded. Mr. Berry had seemed a quiet, even- 
tempered man, and I had said to myself that there would 
be no bullying aboard of the Medway. The watches had 
not yet been set, but the bark was on her course before a 
light breeze, and things were being made ship-shape. The 
captain was already at dinner, and soon after uttering the 



IIO JACK ALLEN S YARN. 

remarks quoted above, the mate went down to join him. I 
was thus left in charge of the deck, but the crew, with the 
exception of the man at the wheel, went forward with their 
kids. As the beef made its appearance, there was a move- 
ment of surprise, and I heard several of them utter ex- 
pressions of disgust. The meat was picked up and closely 
examined, and then all faces were turned in my direction. 
Then, after a brief consultation, an old sailor, whose every 
look and action proved the genuine tar, picked up the 
meat-tub, and came aft with it. He was going to make a 
complaint, which he had a perfect right to do, and I, as 
officer of the deck, had no right to refuse to listen. He put 
down the tub, doffed his hat, and very respectfully said: 

" Mr. Allen, the meat isn't hardly fit to bait a shark. It 
is probably the fault of the cook. Will you kindly forward 
our complaint to the captain ? " 

At that moment Captain Burrows appeared on deck. 
Taking in the situation at a glance, he walked straight up 
to the sailor and thundered : 

"What in hell's name does this mean, you dog? Finding 
fault with your provisions before the first meal is begun ! 
Get forward, you infernal whelp !" 

The man retreated without a word in reply, but left the 
tub behind him. I'm telling you the solemn truth when I 
say that the odor of it was enough to turn my stomach 
seven or eight feet away. 

" It's just like 'em, the hounds ! " roared the captain. 
" It's the beef they find fault with, eh ? Here, every mother's 
son, come aft ! " 

The men slowly obeyed, knowing that a storm was at 
hand. The captain picked up the tub, held it out toward 
them, and said : " Is there anything wrong with this meat ? 
Who says this isn't as sweet beef as was ever placed before 
sailors ? Who is the man ? " 

For a minute not one of them answered him. Then the 



JACK ALLEN S YARN. Ill 

man who had brought the tub aft stepped out, made a 
respectful salute, and replied : " Captain Burrows, we didn't 
find fault with you, but with the cook. The meat is so far 
gone that no man aboard can eat it." 

" Oh, it's bad, is it ? " sneered the captain, as he placed 
the tub in my hands. ' No one can eat it, eh ? Let's see 
about that." 

With his naked fingers he lifted up a piece and bit off a 
mouthful and swallowed it. At that moment the mate ap- 
peared on deck, and the captain called : " Mr. Berry, the 
men declare this meat unfit to eat. Come and taste it, and 
give me your opinion." 

The mate came forward and tasted it. I saw him wince 
as he chewed at the stuff, but he bravely swallowed it down, 
and exclaimed : "The best beef I ever saw aboard a ship!" 

"You whelps ! You hounds ! You gang of lazy sojers, 
but I'll teach you to find fault !" screamed the captain, as 
he threw the tub at the nearest sailor ; and then he dashed 
among them, followed by the mate, and four or five men 
were knocked down and kicked about in the most brutal 
manner. Not one of them made any attempt at resistance, 
and they were not followed beyond the foremast. 

" There ! I guess they've had an introduction to me, 
and will hereafter know how to brace their yards," chuckled 
the captain as he came aft. "I run this craft, Mr. Allen 
and I want every man aboard to know it. I want no man 
in the cabin who coddles the fo'castle. Why didn't you 
knock the dog down when he came aft with the beef ? " 

"Captain Burrows," I replied, "I was never aboard of 
a vessel yet where the master would not listen to a com- 
plaint when respectfully and regularly set forth." 

" Oh, you weren't ! And so I've got a second mate who 
can teach me something. How very fortunate I am ! Let 
me say to you, sir, that you had better go slow. I can 



112 JACK ALLEN S YARN. 

break you and send you forward among the men, and I'll 
do it if you give me the slightest excuse." 

With that he turned and went below. In a little time 
the watches were named and set, and as I was ready to 
turn in the mate took occasion to observe : 

" The old man is a little headstrong, but it needs a strong 
hand over these fellows. If once you begin to palaver with 
'em they'd demand cabin stores within a week." 

"But the meat was horrible." 

"Well, I've seen better; but they had no business to kick 
up a row over it. They're lucky to get meat of any sort." 

I went below realizing that I had shipped aboard a float- 
ing hell, and that my position was a precarious one. As for 
following the example of captain and mate I would not, 
and if I was degraded and sent forward — a matter which 
lay entirely with the captain — I had better go overboard at 
once. Had the captain been a just and mild-tempered 
man the mate would have been under restraint. As the 
captain had taken the lead and shown that he intended to 
govern by kicks and blows, the mate felt free to exercise 
his brutal nature. Within half an hour after I had left the 
deck he forced an excuse for knocking one of the men 
down, and an hour later he reported to the captain that he 
had never sailed with such a gang of mutinous dogs. 

During my night watch I saw and heard enough to realize 
that a feeling of deep indignation had taken hold of the 
crew, and that it needed only another act of brutality to in- 
cite rebellion. The man at the wheel invented an excuse to 
speak to me, and presently observed: 

" Some of the men feel pretty sore, Mr. Allen, and I hope 
they won't be driven to " 

He did not finish the sentence, and I said: 

" Let them take their grievances before the first American 
consul. There are laws to protect the sailor as well as the 
officer." 



JACK ALLEN S YARN, II3 

" But who of us ever saw those laws enforced, sir ? Jack 
is a dog at sea, and a nobody ashore. The captain tells his 
story to the Consul, and if Jack follows after he's more 
likely to be sent to prison than to receive justice." 

I could not gainsay it, and I, as an officer of the ship, had 
no right to encourage a spirit of complaint. Sailor men will 
stand poor rations and the most brutal abuse so long as they 
are without a leader. What had happened during the day 
might have been passed over and forgotten had not the 
scenes been renewed. The mate came on deck in bad 
temper, and as my watch turned in he was abusing his for 
their tardiness in answering the call, though I never saw a 
quicker change on any craft. It happened that the man 
who had acted as spokesman in regard to the beef was the 
last one out of the fo'castle. It was no wonder, for several 
of his teeth had been loosened and one of his eyes closed by 
the blows, and he was probably stiff and sore. As I went 
down the companion I heard the mate shouting: 

"Ah! you infernal skulker, but I'll cure you of this! If 
you've come aboard this bark to sojer and live on sweet 
cake, you want to look out for me!" 

I turned in sick at heart, now realizing that there would 
be no let up on the part of captain or mate to the end of the 
voyage. It did not seem as if I had been asleep half an 
hour, though in reality three hours had passed, when some 
one pulled at my arm, and a voice said: 

" Mr. Allen, you are wanted on deck, sir." 

"Who is it?" I asked. 

" It's me, sir — James Martin. Will you come on deck at 
once ? " 

I knew that the man was a common sailor, though I did 
not know any of them by name as yet. I reached the deck 
a minute behind him. The bark was on her course, but the 
breeze was very light. To my astonishment I found most 



114 JACK ALLEN S YARN. 

of the men aft, and I was no sooner on deck than I saw that 
something was very wrong. 

" Mr. Allen" said the man who had complained of the 
beef, and whose name was Johnson, " the Medway is in our 
possession. We have been driven to mutiny." 

" It can't be!" I exclaimed, as I looked about. 

"But it is true, sir, and now we want to know whether 
you are going to stand by us or side with the captain ?" 

" Where is the captain ? " 

" Lying over there in the lee scuppers, bound hand and 
foot. The mate went overboard half an hour ago." 

I walked over to where the captain was lying. He was 
securely bound, but no harm had come to him as yet. He 
was, however, in mortal terror, and as soon as he set eyes 
on me he called out in broken tones: 

" Mr. Allen, for God's sake, save my life! Don't let them 
murder me in cold blood! " 

As I looked from captain to mutineer, Johnson said: 

" The mate was among us with a belaying-pin, seeming 
bent on murder, and we had to do for him. Then we rea- 
soned that we might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb, 
and we secured the captain." 

" Men, you have done a terrible thing! Don't you know 
every one of you will swing for this ? " 

"We want no preaching, Mr. Allen," replied Johnson. 
" What we want to know is, how you stand ? The mate has 
gone, and the captain must follow. If you will navigate the 
bark for us, no harm shall come to you. If you refuse, then 
we shall set you adrift. We've gone too far to back water." 

" Talk to 'em, Mr. Allen," gasped the captain, who was 
greatly broken down. " Tell 'em that if they will spare our 
lives they shall not be punished for what they have done. I 
give my word they shan't." 

" What will you do with him ? " I asked. 

" Set him adrift in the yawl at daybreak." 



JACK ALLEN S YARN. 115 

" And if I refuse to navigate the bark ?" 

" You go with him, though we'd be sorry for it, for you've 
used the men right." 

" What point do you wish to make? " 

" The coast of Brazil." 

" Will you all sign a paper to the effect that I had nothing 
to do with bringing about this mutiny, and that I navigated 
the bark under duress ? " 

"We will that!" they shouted in chorus. 

"Very well, I will remain; but why not keep the captain 
a prisoner instead of sending him adrift? " 

" He must be punished, sir," replied Johnson. 

I argued with 'em together and separately, but it was no 
use. They had decided on a course, and could not be 
swerved from it. Captain Burrows was a cringing coward. 
He begged, entreated, and sought to bribe, and when day 
fully broke he hadn't the heart of a woman. A man was 
sent aloft with a glass to survey the sea, and when he came 
down and reported the waters clear of sail the yawl was 
lowered, a keg of water, some of the spoiled meat, and a lot 
of wormy biscuits were placed in it, and they were ready to 
send the captain adrift. His cowardice was so great that 
one could not pity him. He had to be lowered over the 
side like a bail of rags, and as his boat floated away he cow- 
ered down on the bottom, and seemed to fall into a stupor. 
When he was half a mile astern Johnson called every man 
aft and said : 

" Now, men, Mr. Allen is to be our captain, and he is to 
be promptly obeyed. I shall be first mate, Peterson 
second, and, though we berth in the cabin, you shall have 
just as good food as we do. We will now name the watches, 
and things will go on as if there had been no trouble." 

His word was not questioned. There was no exultation, 
no lawlessness, no boasting. Every man was quiet and 
thoughtful. They had been wronged. They had righted 



n6 jack allen's yarn. 

that wrong in their own way, and were now simply seeking 
to make a safe escape. In twenty minutes after the captain 
was set afloat you could not have told that anything out of 
the routine had happened. The decks were washed down, 
breakfast prepared, and when things had been cleared away 
Johnson came down into the cabin and said : 

" Mr. Allen, how far are we out from the Sandwich 
Islands ? " 

" Not to exceed seventy miles." 

''Very well; you will please give us the course for the 
Paumotu Islands." 

I got out the charts, gave him the course, and followed 
him on deck. Everything was ship-shape, the men as 
respectful as you please, and it was hard to realize that any- 
thing like mutiny and murder had occurred. It seemed as 
if the very winds looked upon the revolution with favor, for 
the breeze hauled to our best sailing point and sent us along 
hour after hour and day after day until we were far to the 
south of the Sandwich Islands. 

I am telling you now what I afterward swore to, that a better 
crew never trod a deck. There was no wrangling, no drink- 
ing, and not the least indication of insubordination. When 
we came to overhaul the ship's stores we found four-fifths of 
them as fresh and sound as any sailor could ask for. The 
other portion must have been put in by the captain on some 
speculation. 

Near the line of the equator we had light winds and 
calms for several days, but finally got a slant which carried 
us to the south until we got a holding breeze, and one after- 
noon we sighted the islands for which we had long been 
headed. The group comprises fifty or more islands, with 
those of the Society, Cook, and Tabna lying just to the 
south. At this day most of the islands are inhabited. At 
that date only a few of them were, and there were not above 
three or four ports of call, mainly for the convenience of 



JACK ALLEN S YARN. LI7 

whalers in want of vegetables and water. The bark had 
planned to visit the Marshall, Gilbert, and Phoenix Islands, 
lying near the equator, and much nearer Honolulu. The 
Paumotu Islands had been selected by the mutineers because 
two of them had once been wrecked among them, and spent 
a year or more in leading a half-civilized life. 

Before dark we had made a safe anchorage, and, though 
the voyage was now ended, discipline still remained as strict 
as ever. That evening Johnson came down to me and said: 

"Mr. Allen, the voyage is ended. You have done as you 
agreed, and you must admit that the men have been well 
behaved. Will you go with us to-morrow or stick by the 
bark ?" 

" I must stand by the craft." 

" Just as you say, sir. This is a sheltered spot, and we 
will leave you in good shape. We shall take the long boat, 
some spare sails, a few stores and other things, but nothing 
to cripple the bark. Good-night, Mr. Allen." 

The next day the longboat was hoisted out, and the men 
took some muskets, a few hatchets, kettles to cook in, fishing 
tackle, tobacco, pipes, and a keg of rum, and finished off 
with shipstores enough to last 'em for a couple of weeks. 
There was over $2,000 in gold in the cabin, and as Johnson 
knew it the others must have known it as well, but not a 
man asked for a dollar. It was 3 o'clock in the afternoon 
before they were ready to go, and the last two hours were 
spent in making everything snug. All the light sails were 
sent down and put into the sail room, and the others were 
carefully stowed. The second anchor was dropped, and the 
captain's dingey was hoisted out and made fast alongside for 
my use if I wanted to go ashore. Then every man signed 
the paper I had drawn up, and as they went over the side 
each one took my hand and bade me good-by. I never saw 
one of them again. 

Six weeks later a Massachusetts whaler discovered the 



Il8 GOOD CREW. 

Medway in her snug berth, and, as she happened to have the 
crew of a wrecked vessel aboard, I had no trouble in secur- 
ing a complement of men to return the bark to San Fran- 
cisco. The captain, as was afterward learned, had drifted 
two days before he was picked up by a trading steamer, but 
he died several days after his rescue. So far as I know no 
steps were ever taken to overhaul the mutineers, as after my 
statement in the courts public sympathy was altogether in 
their favor. 



We stowed anchors abreast of the Old Head of Kinsale, 
and after lashing the spare spars, and securing the water- 
casks, were fairly on our voyage. 

When in about thirty degrees west longitude, the wind 
blowing very fresh from the northeast, and the ship stag- 
gering along under a heavy press of canvas, we had the 
misfortune to carry away our main-yard. 

Unbending the mainsail, we got the pieces of the yard on 
deck, fished it, and swayed it aloft and slung it. 

During the first dog-watch, while all hands were on deck, 
we bent the mainsail and set it, as well as the maintop sail. 

As the wind increased towards night, all hands single- 
reefed the topsails, with to'gallant sail set over them, the 
log showing thirteen knots an hour. 

Under this sail we passed a comfortable night, and early 
in the morning shook out the reefs, and set the foretop- 
mast stun 'sail. 

We had an unusually good crew, and the fo'castle was a 
delightful resort all that voyage until we reached the Banks 
of Newfoundland. There were men who had been in the 
Indian Ocean, others round the Horn, in the Pacific, to 
Australia, and China, and their tongues were ever ready to 
reel off the yarn of their adventures. To me this was new 
and exciting. I often lay awhile awake wondering when I 
should be favored with a sight of those strange places. 



ON THE BANKS. IJ9 

On the "Banks" near Newfoundland, it is necessary to 
keep up unceasing vigilance, especially at night, on account 
of the numerous fishing craft at anchor or under canvas. 

These fishing-vessels are the source of infinite annoy- 
ance to the captains of vessels which ply between the 
United States and the ports of Northern Europe. 

A large ship from one of the Northern European ports 
will come booming along under all sail with a strong breeze 
a couple of points free, reeling of twelve or thirteen knots 
an hour in a fog so dense that the look-out on the forecastle 
can barely discern the outline of the flying jibboom end, 
and every eye is strained peering into the gray mass of 
vapor into which the ship is rushing, when a startling " sail, 
ho!" rings out, and before a "where away " can be uttered, 
a mere speck has appeared, darted across the bows and 
disappeared in the gloom, having succeeded in creating 
intense excitement on board of the huge three-master. 
Again, when to the misty curtain of the fog is added the 
intense darkness of night, the danger is increased tenfold ; 
yet, while all is watchfulness and anxiety on board of the 
leviathan, and captain and officers, crew and passengers are 
on the alert, the fisherman, whose motto seems to be — 

" Fear not, but trust in Providence, 
Wherever thou may'st be," 

drops his anchor, graciously condescends to show a light 
on the fore-stay, and sometimes, but not always, sets a 
hand on the look-out. 

Having thus satisfied themselves that they are not likely 
to run down the Great Eastern, or one of H. B. M. line of 
battle ships, the bold fishermen of Gloucester or Martha's 
Vineyard will turn in for an all-night's snooze, and snore as 
musically as if they were safe in bed at home. 

Fearful indeed have been the consequences of their fool- 
hardiness ; many and many a time as the weary eyes of the 
lookout peered into the darkness ahead has he been horror- 



120 BLACK BALL LINE. 

stricken to see a dark spot in the gloom — too late ! Ere the 
words can be uttered the ponderous bow crushes the frail 
pinkey or dory into lumber. For an instant, a glimpse of 
half-dressed men rushing from their couches, one agonizing 
shriek, and many a home in New England is filled with the 
orphan's sob and the widow's wail, while the great ship 
shears her way through the fog, the night and the tempest, 
insensible, remorseless, reckless of the brave hearts stilled 
forever beneath her flying keel. 

" But little do we bold mariners cai 
What hour we fall, or what risk we aare, 
For the groan on the strugging sailor's lip 
Is less for himsel f than his dying ship. 
Oh ! our's is the life for the free and the brave ; 
We dance o'er the planks that may yawn as a grave, 
We laugh 'mid the foam of our perilous home, 
And are ready for deaih whene'er it may come." 

Boarded by a pilot off Montauk Point, we cleared away 
our anchors, overhauled ranges of cable, singled our shank 
painters and ring stoppers, and next morning a tug took 
hold of us and put us alongside a wharf in the East River, 
at the foot of Beekman Street. 

We were but partially fast before the entire crew whom 
we had shipped in Liverpool leaped ashore, with their 
dunnage hove on to the wharf before, and betaking them- 
selves to their haunts, began to spend like asses the money 
they had earned like horses. 

Thus ended my first voyage in a "Blackballer " after a 
passage home of twenty-two days, and although personally 
I had been subjected to no ill-treatment by either officers 
or crew, I felt perfectly disgusted with that phase of a sea- 
man's life, and I determined that no ordinary circumstances 
should induce me to ship again as foremast hand on the 
Black Ball line of packet-ships. 



Chapter V. 

" Welcome the seas where the southern breeze 

Is laden with odors rare, 
Where the tropic isles and the meadows smile, 

Are comely, kind, and fair. 
And now bright eyes are looking forth, 

In hopes that they may see 
Our snow-white sails before the gales, 

Rolling down to " Old Mani." 

Bill Chapman, a seaman of about forty-five years old, 
had, notwithstanding the disparity in our ages, been my con- 
stant companion and chum on board the Columbus. He had 
ran away from school at the age of fifteen and shipped as a 
cabin-boy on board the bark Midas of New Bedford, bound 
for a five years' cruise in the South Pacific. During his long 
apprenticeship on board of the old blubber hunter, he, like 
Ulysses, saw the cities and learned the customs of many 
men; for the Midas, not being overburdened with success 
in filling her casks with oil, had ample leisure to poke her 
nose into all sorts of out-of-the-way places, where, on pre- 
tence of rafting aboard water or getting a fresh supply of 
potatoes and onions, the officers and men would enjoy the 
luxury of a run ashore. 

In fact the good-natured skipper of the whaler seemed to 
be convinced that pleasure and adventure were the chief 
objects for which his owners had fitted out the ship. 

In accordance with this idea, he carried out their sup- 
posed intentions with most praiseworthy assiduity. 

Beginning with the Cape De Verdes, where all hands ex- 
perienced the pains and pleasures attendant upon too liberal 
potations of " aguardiente," he visited Tristan D'Acunha 
to lay in a supply of potatoes and yams, and to have a long 
" game " with an old chum of his, who, preferring a hermit's 
Life ashore to the quarter-deck of a blu'bber-hunter, had be- 



122 BILL CHAPMAN. 

come quite domesticated among the dwellers in this remote 
island of the South Atlantic. 

Leaving Tristan D'Acunha, our worthy spent a month or 
so cruising, in a perfunctory way, off Gough's Island; but 
the right whales which there abound were too wild and too 
full of fight to be captured by the boats of this easy-going 
sperm-whaler, so that our captain made sail for Table Bay 
" to recruit." Zanzibar and Madagascar were next visited, 
and after a flying visit to Mauritius, St. Paul's, and Desola- 
tion, the Midas came to an anchorage in the harbor of Mel- 
bourne, and the captain went ashore with a letter for his 
owners, reporting all hands in good health and the ship 
'.' clean." 

After a short cruise on the New Zealand whaling grounds, 
he pointed the good Midas to the northward and eastward, 
visiting Whytatekee, Roratonga, Otaheite, Nukahiva, and in 
short every island of note in the South Pacific. 

Continuing his exploration to the north of the "line," he 
made a conscientious survey of the Hawaian group, and the 
"boys of the Midas" were considered well posted in all 
that a sailor would care to know about Hawaii, Molokai, 
Maui or Oahu. 

As far as I could judge from many a long conversation 
with Bill Chapman, the crew of the Midas had not extended 
their inquiries or their observations to matters of geology, 
politics or religion. His ignorance on all such points was 
truly phenomenal, and I would have hesitated to give cre- 
dence as to the truth of his never-ending yarns, had he not 
shown himself a complete master of the details which make 
up the social life of the dwellers in those far-off lands. 

At last, wearied of the intolerable sameness of an unsuc- 
cessful whaling voyage, young Chapman deserted the old 
bark in the roads of Honolulu and shipped on board the 
Trident, an English ship, bound to the coast of China. 

After a delay of several months at Whampoa, the Trident 



WHALERS. 123 

received her cargo of tea and silk and sailed for London. 
Satisfied with his new life, Chapman entered as apprentice, 
and passed several years in voyages to Bombay, Calcutta, 
Singapore and Canton, lealizing quite a handsome sum of 
money from his wages and a few private speculations in 
crape shawls and other silk goods, which he disposed of to 
good advantage without the aid of the Custom House. 
This money must, as a matter of course, be spent somehow, 
and my brave Chapman determined to revisit his native city 
of New York in grand style. 

In pursuance of this sapient resolve, he sailed on board of 
the Adirondack from Liverpool to New York, but not in the 
fo'castle, oh no ! that was beneath his dignity — the cabin, 
and the best state-room in it, were not half good enough for 
my aristocratic friend. Well, he arrived in New York and 
had a grand " blow out." Ostentatious of his newly-acquired 
wealth, he, like the man going from Jerusalem to Jericho, 
fell among thieves, who stripped him not only of his money 
but of his clothes. In this predicament, a Cherry street 
boarding-house keeper seemed to him a veritable Good 
Samaritan, and, one fine morning, my friend Chapman made 
his appearance on the deck of the Columbus, in a suit of old 
dungaree, to face the Western Ocean and the tender mercies 
of Huntington and Cornish. 

Here I made his acquaintance, and, attracted by his 
splendid seamanship and quiet manners, I rendered him 
some little services which he seemed to think deserving of 
unending gratitude. 

Like all old whalemen he was an adept in the arts of cut- 
ting, sewing, making, repairing and altering clothing. 

He would patch and repatch a shirt until the original ma- 
terial was entirely hidden ; then he would take another 
shirt reduced to the same state of decreptitude, and, sewing 
the two together, get a few months more service out of 
them. This he called " patch upon patch and patch overall." 
By these means he succeeded in making the few articles of 



124 NEW YORK DOCKS. 

clothing which I forced him to accept do excellent service 
during the passage out to Liverpool, and he took great pride in 
making me proficient in using thread and needles. In teaching 
me this useful knowledge, and in explaining to me the more 
difficult problems of seamanship, he spent the day watch 
below. Our night watches on deck were spent in long 
stories about his adventures in the Indian or the South 
Pacific oceans, or in some one of the Chinese ports. Ah ! 
George, he would frequently say, that is sailorizing; no 
bobbing in and out of port, loading and discharging cargo 
every two or three weeks, and making and shortening sail, 
and reefing, furling, bracing and hauling every time the 
watch is relieved, day and night, with a lot of half-licked 
cubs in the fo castle and blood-sucking hyenas abaft the 
main-mast. If ever we haul alongside of a New York 
wharf again, you and I will ship for a voyage to China and 
back, and then you'll see something like comfort and you'll 
feel as if you were a sailor." 

Well, we agreed to make the voyage together, and, on 
arriving in New York, we went to the same boarding-house, 
and began to look out for a ship bound to Canton. 

On mentioning our project, we found that several of the 
seamen who boarded with us had signed articles for a voy- 
age to Canton in the ship Niantic, Captain Griswold. 

They were fine jovial fellows, and gave us every en- 
couragement to join the crew, being quite enthusiastic in 
praise of the ship and her officers. 

After conferring together, we went down to the shipping 
office and signed articles. 

The few days which remained before the Niantic would 
be ready to haul out in the East River were spent by us in 
visiting some of Chapman's friends in the city. 

New York has changed in its upper parts, beyond Canal 
street, and around the Central Park, since the times of which 
I write, " before the war," but the docks remain very much 



IMPROVEMENTS SINCE MY DAY. 



125 



as they were, except that the various kinds and sizes of 
craft have improved in size and quality since I was a sailor 
boy. Then steam was the exception in sea-going vessels, 
now it is the rule for long voyages, although sailing-ships 
are still known, and very fine in model and construction are 
they. It is a delight to go over their fine lines and note the 
improvements since '' my day." 




m 

^ 



SIGNING ARTICLES. 



Changes in New York within the past three decades have 
been slow in some places, rapid in others, enduring in all ; 
and the river fronts mark the transition with unerring 
certainty. The North River, formerly denominated " the 
Seamboat District," maintains its prestige. The big boats 
round the Battery on their way up the Sound, and the high- 
way of the Hudson claims its quota of steamboats and 



126 IMPROVEMENTS SINCE " MY DAY." 

barges, which even the railroads cannot crowd out of a 
profitable existence. The East Side, with some steamboat 
lines left, has changed its front materially. Whitehall and 
Coenties Slip still harbor their canal boats, and the " Flour 
District " maintains its pasty identity on wet days. Toward 
Wall street, however, things have changed, and beyond this 
the big bridge stretches its cabled spans over the old build- 
ings near the Roosevelt street ferry. Thence to the sec- 
tional and balance-dock vicinity, and further on toward 
the " Hook " the old identity has been successfully merged 
into a present, which, according to an old "sea-dog's" 
ideas of how things ought to be, would be unsatisfactory. 
Some of the larger buildings are still warehouses, with their 
importance on the wane and a struggle for existence. The 
marble yards exist at the bend, where the big bulkheads 
are, but there are fewer vessels at the wharf and there is 
less marble in the yards. 

In the palmy days of South street, twenty-five or thirty 
years ago, every pier was a scene of busy life and money- 
making. Square-riggers from every port pointed their jib- 
booms far over the pavements, and the forest of tall masts 
extended from below Wall street away up beyond Market 
and Pike streets. The only break in the line was just at 
the balance-docks, where half a hundred sloops "snug- 
gled " themselves into place, and made things generally 
lively with their trade in merchandise and market stuff from 
the big and little places on the Sound. Palmy days those 
were for the harbor masters, the shipping agents, the steve- 
dores, 'longshoremen, and the ship-owners. The monthly 
fees from registered vessels and the perquisites from coasters 
made the harbor masterships the plum worth struggling for 
in the distribution of executive patronage. Politicians 
sought them for their friends and secured them for them- 
selves. When there were seven harbor masters the wire- 
pulling was energetic. Then there were nine, and the wires 



IMPROVEMENTS SINCE MY DAY. 127 

were still taut. Then there were eleven hungry officials to 
bite at the cherry, and yet the wire-pulling continued, and 
the skilled talent in requisition at the old Capitol chambers, 
the Delavan House and Stanwix Hall, successfully engi- 
neered non-confirmation by the Senate, and the stubborn 
harbor masters held over for more than one term. And 
this, too, while stubborn old Commodore Vanderbilt was 
fighting against paying the fees. The fight amused the 
commodore, who was as much of an autocrat, in his way, as 
the harbor masters. But the old commodore failed to win, 
and finally paid for his amusement, when such active polit- 
ical magnates as Owen W. Brennan, Alexander H. Schultz, 
James Bevins, Mathew D. Green, "Lew" Brainard, S. S. Ben- 
edict, David Herrick, A. D. Barbour, W. H. Burleigh, Abram 
Pierce and James W. Husted found the harbor masterships 
profitable, convenient, consoling and computable. 

In those busy days " before the war " there was much to 
be seen along the docks, and the rural visitor had reason 
to wonder where all the big ships came from. The Southern 
coasting trade was an important factor in the revenues to 
the merchants of New York from inter-State commerce. 
From Beekman Street to James Slip the "two dollar 
fellows " (for the schooners, as a rule, paid this amount for 
the berths provided by the harbor masters, and the schooner 
district was the pet one on the East River) had their regu- 
lar places. Such firms as Dollner, Potter & Co., Jonas 
Smith & Co., R. M. Demill and others, had the cream of the 
naval store trade. The North Carolina and Virginia ports 
did their heaviest business with these houses. The "Down 
Rasters " had a trade of their own. The lumbermen from 
Maine and the traders from New England east of Boston 
made their headquarters among the Wall street offices near 
the river. Among them J. W. Elwell & Co. and the circle 
of merchants who originated and supported the Marine 
Bank were the leading spirits. 



128 



IMPROVEMENTS SINCE MY DAY. 



The immigrant trade with the Old Country was repre- 
sented in the vessels belonging to the Tapscott, Black Ball 
(C. H. Marshall's), Spofford and Tileston's and Morgan's 
lines, while Howland & Aspinwall, Dunham & Dimon, 
Snow & Burgess, Grinnell, Minturn & Co., N. L. & G. 




BLACKBALL LINER IN DOCK, NEW YORK. 



Griswold and other old-time houses had regular vessels 
plying between New York and English ports. 

The discovery of gold in California in '48 begat the ex- 
citement in '49, when golden visions of the riches of the 
Pacific Coast enticed the adventurous spirits from the At- 
lantic States. The hard-handed farmers built air-castles and 



IMPROVEMENTS SINCE MY DAY. I 29 

followed their fancies across the plains, many of them to be 
lost in the canons of the Rockies. It was a long way round 
the Horn, but the Pacific Coast beckoned with its golden 
hand, and the American shipbuilders were to meet the 
emergency by craft which should shorten the voyage by 
speed and bring the golden shores closer. New York had 
its half dozen shipyards, and the contest for superiority 
began with the New Englanders. Webb, Westervelt, Steers 
— such men were ready to begin work, and the blows of 
the axe and mallet resounded unceasingly. Strong-ribbed 
ships grew steadily under the practised hands of enthusias- 
tic workmen, and the careful eyes of the master, who owned 
the yards and took the risk of failure or reputation in suc- 
cess. New England's competition was earnest and gener- 
ous. East Boston, Rockport, Kennebunk, Portland, Bath — 
all deep-water ports — were busy. The California trade 
must be supplied with swift-winged racers. Abundant capi- 
tal and stimulated labor produced with marvelous rapidity 
the sharp-bowed, long-hulled, rakish clippers, modeled 
with as much care as yachts, and much like the fleet of fast- 
sailing vessels peculiar to Baltimore and trading in and out 
from Chesapeake Bay. " There's another new ship," was an 
expression to be punctuated with a period instead of an ex- 
clamation point, and the big ships were moored three and 
four abreast in the East river docks awaiting turns at the 
wharves. Freight awaiting shipment was piled up taffrail 
high, and at the 'longshoremen's nooning an army of sun- 
burnt men lounged along the river front. Such firms as W. 
T. Coleman & Co., Sutton & Co., Snow & Burgess, the Aus- 
tins and the Griswolds made money fast in the California 
trade. 

There were big records for the big ships in those days, 
and a "slice in a clipper " paid roundly, while the builders 
were proud of their work. The Challenge, a 2,000-ton ship 
owned by the Griswolds, was a racer. So was the Rett 



130 NEW YORK WHARVES. 

Jacket. The Flying Cloud in 1851 cast the foam from her 
bows in a run from Sandy Hook to San Francisco in eighty- 
nine days, making 433 miles in one day. The Comet made 
the run from San Francisco to New York in eighty-three 
days, and the Sovereign of the Seas came home from the 
Sandwich Islands in eighty-three days in the spring of 1852. 
All the ships were fast, and the records of so many are 
notable that comparison would be unfair, but the voyage of 
the Dreadnaught in 1853, when she made steamer's time of 
thirteen days from Liverpool to New York, was one of the 
noted. 

The ship-building industry which began so lustily in 1850 
had lost no strength in 1853. There was no less demand 
from California, and European business had been turned 
into the clipper service, while the carrying trade between 
China and New York called for the best attainable speed. 
A. A. Low & Brothers, then the leaders in the tea trade, 
numbered in their fleet the ships N. B. Palmer and Samuel 
Russell, and the noted barks Benefactor and Benefactress. 
In 1853 the Great Republic touched the water from the 
stocks of Donald McKay, at East Boston, built for the 
Lows, and having a tonnage of 3,356. She was a four- 
master and a four-decker, designed for the China trade, and 
to be the largest possible "box of tea " afloat. All New 
York was anxious for the coming of the big vessel, and for 
several days, while berthed at Pier No. 28, East river, she 
was on exhibition. Then when loaded and ready for sea, 
with crew all shipped, the ship was held at her berth, be- 
cause the rule of the owners was to send no vessels to sea on 
Sundays or on holidays. But the Great Republic was des- 
tined to destruction. At midnight the cry of " fire " sounded 
in the silent streets of the old Fourth Ward, and the lumbering 
engines, drawn by the willing hands of the old volunteer 
fire department, were hurried to Goodwin's cracker bakery 
in Front street. It was burning like tinder, the shower of 



132 NEW YORK WHARVES. 

sparks carried toward the river falling upon the shipping. 
The tall masts and partly unbent canvas of the Great Re- 
public were a shining mark, and an hour later, despite all 
efforts, the ship was afire aloft, and the fiery fragments of 
rigging and sails were falling upon the resinous and var- 
nished decks. 

The Great Republic was doomed. So was the Joseph Walker, 
grain-laden, lying on the lower side of Pier No. 29, near the 
end of the wharf. The Constellation, lying ahead of her, 
was barely saved, and a new clipper lying at the end of Pier 
No. 28, astern of the Great Republic, was cut loose and sent 
adrift, all afire, to speed away up the river on the strength 
of the flood tide, ground near Blackwell's Island, and there 
to burn to the water's edge. The interest in the Great Re- 
public was national, and such was the regard in which the 
big clipper was held that every effort was made to confine 
the fire to the spars and the upper deck. But while anxious 
crowds watched the burning vessel and while Donald Mc- 
Kay, her builder, stood with tearful eyes upon the steps of 
the ship-chandler's store at South and Dover streets, the 
orders were given by the chief engineer of the fire de- 
partment to scuttle the vessel, and she sunk in her berth, 
there to lie for some months. Then she was taken back to 
her birthplace at East Boston to be rebuilt. She did service 
in the Pacific, and was used as a troop-ship in the Black Sea 
by the allies during the Crimean war. 

The ascendancy of the clippers was maintained tor sev- 
eral years. Gradually they crowded out the square-sterned, 
clumsy-bowed packets plying across the Atlantic, and the 
shipping interests of the port of New York were counted in 
big figures, notwithstanding the impending monopolization 
of the steamship lines by English capitalists. 

A fleet of stout-built, sea-going, side-wheel tow boats was 
constantly employed in the Sandy Hook service, and many 
found paying jobs in cruising off-shore under constant 



NEW YORK WHARVES. 133 

orders to pick up incoming ships and hurry with all speed in 
order to secure berths; for wharf room was inadequate. The 
race for berths was lively, and under the rule of " first come 
first served " a contest between rival stevedores of the ships 
Emerald Isle and E. C. Scranton created much excitement 
and threatened a conflict between the State and the muni- 
cipal authorities while Fernando Wood was mayor. 

The outbreak of the civil war changed all this, and sud- 
denly. That change, inevitable then, has been lasting until 
now, when there seems to be a well-grounded revival in 
shipbuilding in the eastern yards, and the Sewell free 
ship bill is setting the door ajar to the rehabilitation of an 
American merchant navy. When the war became a cer- 
tainty the wharves of New York were worth seeing. There 
were busy expectation and more haste than discretion, 
especially in the dispatching of South-bound vessels. The 
schooners which were regular as clockwork in their appear- 
ance on the East river were hurried away to their home 
ports, not to return. They were wanted in the Con- 
federacy, and their captains were generally willing to take 
chances on the " other side." Bermuda, Cuba and foreign 
ports were havens of safety and profit, when the light craft, 
laden with cotton or naval stores, could be run out through 
the narrowing lines of the blockading squadron. Many 
vessels which were owned jointly by Northern and Southern 
owners were chartered for use in the quartermaster's de- 
partment, or sold at an appraised value to the government. 
The tug-boats were taken up under charters, with the 
accruing clause, and when there was little to do in New 
York harbor found ready employment elsewhere, from 
Washington and Baltimore, down to Virginia and North 
Carolina waters. 

After the war everything had changed. Reconstruction 
elsewhere led to reconstruction of the shipping. The fast- 
sailing clippers had been wearing themselves out by hard- 



134 NEW YORK WHARVES. 

pressed voyages ; many had fallen prey to the Confederate 
cruisers, and were destined to be the basis of claims growing 
out of the Geneva award, and many had for safety changed 
ownership while in foreign countries, and found a living in 
far-off waters under another flag. Steamers which had sur- 
vived the arduous requirements of the government service 
were to be had cheap. Vessel-owners who were early on 
hand when the war broke out had grown rich by the sale or 
charter of their craft, and were willing to take second-hand 
boats at auction prices when the government offered bar- 
gains. Many of the Southern trade houses were extinct ; 
others were crippled financially beyond resuscitation. The 
trade at home ports for Southern productions had fallen 
into new hands. The schooners gave way to small, moder- 
ately fast steamers. Fernandina, Charleston, Savannah, 
Galveston, Wilmington, Newbern, Norfolk found these 
steamers entering their waters instead of the " fore-and- 
afters," and the schooner became the exception, not the rule. 
Nearly ten years of inattention gave American shipping a 
chance to die out. The war and the legislation which fol- 
lowed it had given such enterprise hard blows. There was 
little encouragement, and certainty was dimmed by constant 
additions to the fleet of ocean wanderers from foreign ports. 
Intended blockade runners became ''tramps" here and 
everywhere, and until 1874, when the clipper Ocean King 
was launched at Kennebunk, Me., there was nothing notable 
in the ship-building way. Ten years later Maine gave 
another American ship to the foreign trade, and, with the 
Henry B. Hyde, of 2,453 tons, asserted the claims of Ameri- 
can owners to recognition for speed and beauty. Her first 
voyage to San Francisco was made last year in 123 days; 
thence, grain-laden, she reached Liverpool in 95 days, and 
has just reached home in 22 days from the latter port. 

The status of American shipping, taking New York's 
wharves as a criterion, is peculiar. We are creeping back 



NIANTIC BLOCK. 135 

in a measure to the familiar outlook of years ago — but only 
creeping, while the features to be restored will be but 
partial restoration at best. The fleets of steamers, which 
are ocean ferry boats, sail under the English, French or 
German flag, and the stranger vessels, loading "for a 
market," are foreign-built and foreign-owned. The coast- 
ing trade is by steamers, of a better class than at first, doing 
the work more quickly, and leaving nothing for the trim 
schooners to do in their wonted channels. The brigs and 
barks which were identified with the North of Europe 
trade, still come here, looking just as they used to do, and 
their characteristics are pleasant as permanent remem- 
brancers of old times. The light work vessels which cruise 
" Down East," over beyond the Maine coast, are more 
trimly built and larger; the schooners are nearly all three- 
masters, and have double the tonnage of twenty years ago. 
The square-rigged vessels, few and far between, are, except 
the German-built ones, neither an improvement upon nor a 
decline from the models of twenty years ago, although some 
of the foreigners riding at anchor in the North river, or 
lying well up toward the bulkheads on the East river, are 
faster- looking and more rakish. The return of the clippers, 
which is again to be hoped for, will be a repetition of 
history aptly illustrated. The clippers will hold their own 
with any chance at honest competition to Pacific ports. 
The petroleum trade gave the new ship Frederick Billings, 
a i ockport clipper of 2,500 tons, a full cargo to Yokohama, 
and the ship will return with a paying cargo, already in- 
sured. The California lines have held on tenaciously, not 
withstanding the immense business of the Pacific Mail 
Company, and in view of the encouragement of last year's 
ventures the ship-builders at East Boston and Bath are 
about setting up clippers of equal size with the Hyde, the 
Ropes and the Billings, to be off and away at sea before the 
season closes. 



136 NIANTIC BLOCK. 

It may seem strange that I keep the run of these things, 
but the truth is I have lived so long on or about the ' 'briny" 
that it is a second nature, if not my very first desire and 
pleasure, to keep abreast of the news in the shipping line. 
Every new improvement interests me. 

One item of news seems worthy a place here. The good 
ship Nianiic was beached at San Francisco, and left there 
where the sands blew about her hull, and the docks were 
built out beyond her moorings, as the city and its commerce 
grew, and now the Niantic block, a fine group of buildings 
in the center of the business part of the city, marks the site 
of the wreck of thirty years ago. But I must take up the 
log of my narrative, lest I lose my reckoning altogether and 
be swamped in the quicksand of memories of bygone days 

But just now, when thinking of the fate of the JViantic, it 
occurs to me that she was not such a large vessel after all. 
The ships of those early days of my sailoring were mod- 
erate in size compared with the large steamers and sailers of 
the present. If you will look over the advertising columns 
of the newspapers of say 1836 to 1838 you will frequently 
read some such notice as this: " Now ready for Bombay and 
Calcutta, the swift-sailing, but teak-built ship Marietta of 400 
tons;" or, as another reads: "We will dispatch as soon as 
cargo is complete the copper-bottomed packet brig of 142 
tons register for Madeira, with excellent accommodations 
for passengers." Could you persuade a consumptive to risk 
a passage now in such a small vessel ? 

In the "Annual Register" for 1838 you may read of the 
launch of the British Queen, with this remark : This im- 
mense steamship is intended to carry passengers between 
London and New York. Her length exceeds any vessel in 
the British navy by 35 feet, and that was 275 feet ! Her 
engines were of 500 horse-power, she carried 600 tons of 
coal and 500 tons of cargo ! You could stow away three or 
four such cargoes, ship and all, in the " immense " steam- 



IN HUDSON STREET. 137 

ships that now carry passengers from London to New York. 
Longer, larger, swifter is the aim now-a-days, always except- 
ing the Great Eastern. 

Having succeeded with almost infinite trouble in getting 
a decent suit of clothes to present himself in, he invited me 
to go with him to call on his sisters, who, having married two 
industrious young men, were living in Hudson street, near 
Vandam. Arriving at the house at about eight o'clock in 
the evening, it was agreed that I should go in first, while 
Chapman should remain behind and enjoy the pleasure of 
surprising his sisters. 

In answer to my rap, a young lady came to the door, and 
after a momentary glance of astonishment at the appearance 
of my rig, inquired whom I wished to see. 

" Does Mrs. Perry live here ?" 

" She does." 

" Tell her, please, that a friend of her brother, William 
Chapman, wants to see her for a few minutes." 

" O, yes, sir; walk in if you please" — and the young lady ran 
or rather flew into the next room, leaving both doors open 
so that Bill and myself could hear her sny excitedly "young 
sailor "— " Uncle Bill — perhaps he has good news." 

In a few moments Mrs. Perry came in, and inviting me to 
be seated, sat down with her back to the door, her daughter 
sitting opposite to her and gazing intently at me. " Oh, sir, 
have you any news about my brother William ? Have you 
seen him ? Is he alive or dead?" 

" Yes, ma'am, I have seen him, and I am glad to say that 
he is in very good health." 

" Oh, thank God, we were dreadfully afraid that he was lost 
at sea ; he had written to say that he was about to pay a 
visit to New York, and would come to see us. We were all 
delighted to think that he was coming, for he had been 
away for nearly ten years, but he never came. My husband 
and my brother-in-law went down to South street to the 



130 SAILOR BROTHER. 

office of the owners of the ship he was to come in, but 
there was no such person among the crew." 

"Very true, thought I, but there he was in the cabin, 
and the Lord only knows what name he sailed under." 

" And where did you see him ?" continued the lady. 

"In Liverpool, ma'am," said I, "he was about to sail in 
the ship Columbus for this port, and she cannot be far 
behind the ship I arrived in, so you may " 

At this critical moment, I caught sight of Bill edging cau- 
tiously into the room behind his sister, and, I could not con- 
tinue, for I was ready to burst with laughter. 

The young lady caught my glance, and, following it, spied 
a fierce-looking sailor man on the point of bending down to 
kiss her mother's cheek. 

"Mother! mother!" she shrieked, and her mother, startled 
beyond measure, tried to rise, but found herself held fast in 
her chair by a pair of sturdy arms, while a gruff voice, 
mellowed by affection, said : " Don't be frightened, Sarah, 
it's only brother Bill." 

Then followed the inevitable crying spell, in which both 
sister and niece spent an unconscionable length of time — all 
the while holding the wanderer's hands and gazing into his 
weatherbeaten face; then round they went on the other 
tack, and, drying their tears, began to banter the life out of 
my shipmate with allusions to the splendid presents he had 
promised and the immense riches which he claimed to be 
the owner of at the time he had last written to them. 

The entrance of Mr. Perry, and of Bill's sister Ella and 
her husband, afforded my friend a brief respite ; but it was 
very brief indeed ; in a few moments the attack was re- 
newed with threefold fury, and the men entered with great 
gusto into the spirit of the joke. 

" Oh, dear Bill," said Sarah, " I had nearly forgotten to 
thank you for the beautiful crape shawl you sent me. Just 




BILL CHAPMAN IN HUDSON STREET. 



I40 SAILOR BROTHER. 

to think how kind and thoughtful you were to bring it all 
the way from China." 

" And my silk dress, Will; why, when I took it to the dress- 
makers, she said she had never seen anything so rich even 
in France, and she's a Parisian, ain't she, Sarah ?" 

" I tell you that camphor wood-box is just the thing to keep 
one's Sunday clothes in, Will; I'll never part with it," said 
one of the men. 

"And oh, Uncle William," chimed in the niece, "how de- 
lighted I was with that beautiful little box of toys and the 
queer little Chinese dolls you sent me. I gave them to the 
baby and she plays with them all day long." 

" All right, all hands of you," said Bill, good humoredly. 
" I say, George," said he, turning to me, " did you ever see a 
poor devil get such a rating ? It beats Cornish all hollow." 

" Better tell about how you had to disappoint them," I 
suggested. 

"Yes, I suppose I shall have to spin the whole yarn, 
George," and thereupon he told of his success in the China 
traders, his passage to New York and the loss of his money, 
not forgetting to speak of what he called my kindness to 
him when he came on board of the Columbus. 

After a pleasant visit we bade farewell, and, returning to 
our boarding-house, learned that all hands had been notified 
to be on board of the Niantic early the next morning. 

The next morning broke clear with the wind at nor-west, 
and, after bidding a hasty adieu to our friends ashore, we all 
went aboard in a "Whitehall boat." 

Clearly borne over the waters of the river came the boom 
of the morning gun from the receiving ship in the navy- 
yard, and, an instant later, a jet of flame and a puff of 
smoke from one of the embrasures of Fort Columbus was 
followed by a dull reverberation echoing up the river, and 
the shrill notes of the fife and the roll of the drum beating 



ON BOARD AGAIN. 141 

the " reveille " saluted our ears as we stepped on board of 
the Nianlic. 

Some of the crew needed breakfast, and others seemed 
more in need of sleep. The pilot and captain determined 
not to get under way until the afternoon, at which time the 
men would be in a fit state for duty. 

After dinner, when all were sober and refreshed by sleep, 
the chief mate, Mr. Capie, came forward to the forescuttle, 
and, stamping with his foot, sang out, " Turn to, men. Man 
the windlass." 

By this time the tug was alongside and made fast. The 
men began to heave in the slack of the cable as the tug 
forged ahead, until the anchor was under foot. " A hand 
lay out and loose the jib," sung out the mate ; "heave up, 
boys, and break her out." When the anchor was in sight 
the jib was hoisted, which canted her head down stream. 

While some hands were overhauling the catfall, hooking 
on and catting the anchor and passing the stoppers, others 
were aloft loosing sails. "Man at the wheel," shouted the 
captain. "Mr. Capie, set the top-sails and to'gallant-sails." 
Our voyage was now fairly begun. 

As we swept down the lake-like expanse which lies be- 
tween the Battery and the north shore of Staten Island, and 
extends from Gowanus to the Jersey shore, the afternoon 
air was laden with the long-drawn chorus of many a crew 
as they sung out at the windlass. Quarantine and Fort Ham- 
ilton were soon well on our quarter, and we began to feel 
the swell of the mighty Atlantic as we curtsied to the surges 
of the lower bay. 

On they came rearing their foaming crests aloft in the 
bright sunshine of the summer afternoon. The northeast- 
ern horizon began to assume a leaden hue, and a few 
ominious clouds appeared in that direction. 

The gallant little tug, which up to this time had steadily 
headed to the southward and eastward, midway between 



142 RAIN AT SEA. 

Coney Island and Sandy Hook, now changed its course 
more to the southward in obedience to the orders of our 
pilot, and in a short time towed us into the placid waters 
inside Sandy Hook. 

The wind was now blowing a living gale from the north- 
east, the lower bay was a wilderness of white water, and the 
breakers dashed furiously upon the outer beach of the 
Hook, with a roar which made our hearts beat faster as we 
thought of the danger so narrowly escaped. 

Darker, darker grew the sky as the storm swept onward, 
increasing in violence as it approached us. With the tug 
astern, in case of necessity, our anchors down and sails 
securely furled, and the " Horse Shoe " acting as a break- 
water, we felt no uneasiness, and spent our time in watching 
the small craft which, caught outside by the sudden ap- 
proach of the gale, were now fleeing like frightened birds to 
a place of safety. Down came the night, and with it a tor- 
rent of rain. Chapman, no mean authority in such mat- 
ters, declared that in all his experience he had never wit- 
nessed such a deluge except in the Indian Ocean, or in the 
monsoons of the China Sea. The rain did not simply fall; 
it seemed to be impelled by some hidden power, and it 
smote our decks spitefully as if disappointed in the endeavor 
to do harm. 

All night long the swish of the rain, the howling of the 
gale and the thundering crash of the breakers kept up their 
stormy chorus, while more than once the distant boom of a 
signal gun came upon the wings of the hurricane bearing to 
our ears the sad news of a ship in distress. 

At earliest dawn, just when the first gray streaks began to 
appear low down on the eastern horizon, the gale began to 
abate and the wind to haul round to the southward and 
westward. By seven o'clock, the wind being still blowing 
from the same quarter and seemingly settled, we hove up 
our mud-hooks, or rather anchors, made sail, and stood out 



HURRICANE. 143 

to sea with our starboard tacks aboard and the wind abeam. 

By the time we had reached the easterly edge of the 
" Gulf Stream " everything was ship-shape, anchors stowed 
and spare spars securely lashed for a long passage, most of 
the chafing gear seized or laced on, and the crew were as 
jovial as if they had sailed many voyages together So that, 
with a tight ship, fair wind and plenty of sea-room, we 
looked forward to a pleasant run to the latitude of the 
" Trades," when we could sit on deck and let the wind 
blow us along." 

But the rugged sea-gods of the North-Atlantic, fearing, 
perhaps, that we might become effeminate by our long 
sojourn amid the gentle breezes of the tropics, determined 
to present us with a memento at parting. 

" Northeast, neither good for man or beast," says the old 
proverb, and so it proved this time, and " Old Boreas, blus- 
tering railer," seemed bent on surpassing his previous 
achievements. 

Dark banks of clouds heralded his approach ; the sea 
rose and tumbled, foamed and roared at his beck, and we 
all, as humble subjects, made hot haste to bow to the storm- 
king. 

In came the stun'sails, followed by the royals and flying- 
jib, then the to'gallant sails were clewed up and furled snug; 
after which all hands were called to " shorten sail," when 
we close reefed the top sails, reefed the foresail and furled 
the spanker ; but the darkening sky of a leaden hue very 
forcibly suggested the prudence of a still further reduction 
of canvas, so the mainsail was hauled up and the jib 
hauled down and both furled snug, royal yards sent down ; 
then we took the fore and mizen top-sails off her, and fore- 
sail, and hove her to the wind on the larboard tack. 

The hurricane now broke upon us with all its fury; at 
every plunge the stout old Niantic buried her nose under 
the seas and the dark waters hid everything forward of the 



144 HURRICANE. 

fore-rigging. This would never do; if we were not anx- 
ious to lose our masts, spring a leak, or start a butt, which 
last misfortune was dreaded by us all of us on account of 
our immense cargo of lead in pigs stowed in the lower hold, 
causing the ship to rise very slowly to meet the seas. 

At last the orders came: "Take in the main-topsail; haul 
down the foretop-mast stay-sail; and in a few minutes the 
men were aloft on the topsail yard holding on by their eye- 
lids and fiercely struggling with the immense sail. At last 
the topsail was furled in a fashion, the stay-sail was stowed, 
and the Niantie, under bare poles, was stripped for the fray. 

When a few hours before I had watched the noble ship as 
she darted swiftly on her course, her long white decks gleam- 
ing in the sunlight, and her sails rising in bellying folds 
tier over tier from rail to truck, the sight was magnificent. 
Now, when, under a sky of inky blackness, the wind shriek- 
ing dismally through the rigging, and the white seas cover- 
ing her as she struggled wearily inward, her bare poles de- 
scribing an arc of nearly sixty degrees as she rolled slug- 
gishly with the deadweight in her hold, quivering throughout 
her whole length under the tremendous shocks of the furious 
seas, the spectacle was appalling in its sublimity. 

There seemed to be a living, enraged spirit rushing about 
the ship, and, as the poet says, dashed 

" As a wave that from the clouds impends, 

And swell'd with tempests on the ship descends; 
White are the decks with foam, the winds aloud 
Howl o'er the masts and sing through every shroud; 
Pale, trembling, tired, the sailors freeze with fears, 
And instant death on every wave appears." 

While I stood lost in awestruck admiration of the scene I 
was joined by Chapman, who had been earnestly conversing 
with Joe Byers one of the oldest seamen of our watch. 

"Well, Bill," said I, "we got the sail off her none too soon. 
That job's done, anyhow; that's one comfort; we can't do any 
more now except wait until it blows itself out." 



JOE BYERS. 145 

" Don't be too sure of that, my lad; there's plenty more 
hard work to be done, and the sooner the better, for done it 
has to be, and it ought to have been done long ago unless 
the old man wants to jump the masts out of her. Just look at 
the way they're jumping. At that rate we'll have many a 
long spell at the pumps, if there's any ship left to pump. Ah! 
at last; will you ?" 

Chapman's surmise proved to be correct; all hands were 
set at work hoisting up the heavy pigs of lead and stowing 
them between decks. It was a fearful, dangerous and ex- 
hausting job at any time, but especially so in a living gale of 
wind, and the ship rolling like a log. All night long we were 
at it, and when we returned on deck we had the satisfaction 
of seeing, by the increased buoyancy with which she rose 
to meet the seas and her comparative steadiness, that our 
labor had not been in vain. 

In the course of the forenoon the gale abated and we 
set close-reefed topsails, reefed foresail and fore-topmast 
staysail, wore ship and stood to the southward and east- 
ward on our course in order to catch the northeast trade 
winds. 

As the wind kept backing to the west'ard the weather 
became more moderate, and we set the mainsail, jib and 
spanker, then shaking two reefs out of fore and maintop- 
sails, set to'gallant sails over them. Under this canvas we 
kept on for four days, at the expiration of which time we got 
into fine weather, and breathed a sigh of relief as we thought 
that, for a time at least, we had seen the last of Western 
Ocean weather. 

We then made all sail, crossed royal yards, shook out all 
reefs, and set mizzen to'gallant sail, royals and flying jib, 
rigged out all starboard stun'sail booms, and set the sails 
with the lower stun'sail. The wind was west sou'west, and 
everything drawing. 



I46 WORK AT SEA. 

Never shall I forget that memorable storm of the 19th 
of September, 1834. I have seen some heavy blows in all 
parts of the world, but for downright, hard, persistent blow- 
ing that equinoctial gale surpassed everything else. 

We were then fast nearing the long wished-for region of 
the trade winds, the weather fine and the breeze favorable. 
The morning watch below was devoted by all hands to dry- 
ing, mending and stowing away of our coarse, heavy cloth- 
ing, and getting out jumpers and hip trousers of old sail-cloth 
or light duck, more suitable to the weather to be expected 
in the low latitudes. On deck the men were engaged in 
various light jobs, such as making spun-yarn, sinnet, or 
perched up aloft seizing on chafing-gear, shifting running 
rigging end for end restrapping blocks, staying masts and 
setting up standing rigging, scraping bright side when prac- 
ticable, and ending with the arduous task of making an hour's 
job last through the entire watch. In this conscientious 
effort they uniformly succeeded, for the officers cared but 
little about the time spent in the work, provided that it were 
neatly done, and the men kept busy. 

This is in reality the most pleasant part of a seaman's oc- 
cupation; there is no fatigue, no danger; the hands alone are 
busy, and the eyes can wander around the horizon and search 
for some object to vary its sameness, while the fancy, shack- 
led by no corporeal fetters, pierces beyond the distant point 
where the arching sky bends down to meet the sea, and re- 
visits the home of childhood and the friends of youth. Alas! 
poor Jack! His hard fate severs him from both, and he 
bears his loss with quiet and unpretending resignation, yet 
many and many a time (when hove to in a gale off the Horn, 
or swinging at our anchors in some lonely harbor on the west 
coast of Africa, or watching the phosphorescent waves and 
sparkling skies of the Coral or the Banda Sea, " Where the 
blue hills of the tropic isles are laden with odors rare") does 
the irrepressible yearning for home and kindred find expres- 



SAIL HO ! 147 

sion in the plaintive lines so often sung by these wanderers 
over the trackless waters of the deep. 

" The home we loved near the bounding deep, 

Where the hills in glory stood; 
And the moss-grown graves where our fathers sleep, 

'Neath the shade of the waving- wood, 
I remember yet, with a fond regret, 

The hills and the flowering lea, 
And the greenwood shade, where the wild birds made 

Their nests 'neath the old mountain tree. 

We are pilgrims now in a foreign land, 

And the joys of youth are past, 
Kind friends are gone, but the old tree stands 

Unharmed by the warring blast. 
The lark may sing in the clouds of spring 

And the swan on the silvery sea; 
But we long for the shade where the wild birds made 

Their nests 'neath the old mountain tree." 

One fine morning we were in about io°- north latitude, 
and the crew were leisurely employed in such work as I have 
described, when an event occurred which served, for a time 
at least, to vary the monotony of our voyage. 

" Sail ho! " from aloft, where Jack Lenine was most ener- 
getically idling his watch away on some fancy job at the fore- 
to'gallant mast-head. 

" Where away?" shouted the mate, Mr. Capie. 

" Two points on our lee bow, sir," came the answer, " and 
about ten miles off," added he. 

Little attention was paid to the appearance of the strange 
sail, until about twenty minutes later the mate sang out, 
" Fore to'gallant mast head, there !" 

"Aye, aye, sir !" 

" Is that sail in sight, yet ?" 

"Yes, sir; she seems to be making no headway." 

" Can you make out her rig ?" 

"She looks like a brig, sir, but she swings round so that I 
can't rightly say what she's like." 

" Keep your eye on her, there, Jack, and let's know as 
soon as you raise her hull !" 

"Aye, aye, sir." 



140 BRIG ADRIFT. 

By this time the attention of all on deck was drawn to the 
stranger, and various were the surmises regarding her char- 
acter and condition. 

" Some craft waterlogged and abandoned," ventured one. 

" Perhaps they've run short of provisions, and are waiting 
for us to run down and supply them," said another. 

" I tell you what it is, mates," said Tom Thorn, a veteran 
who had made many voyages to the West Coast of Africa, 
"palm-oiling," as he divined, " blackbirding " as we strongly 
suspected, "that there craft is in some trouble; its either 
coast fever or a mutiny, I'll be bound." 

" On deck there !" 

"Aye, aye !" 

"She's a bright-sided brig, sir; her sails are all set, but 
the yards are swinging every which way as though the 
braces were all let go, and she was not under any control, 
or any one in command. Looks like as if she was in dis- 
tress, but I can't make out any signal." 

" Keep her away two points," said Captain Griswold, who 
had now come on deck. " Mr. Capie, call all hands and clear 
away to get ready to lower one of the quarter-boats." 

We who were on deck laid aside our work, and, after all 
hands were called, we cast off the gripes of the lee quarter- 
boat, and got all in readiness for lowering. 

The chief mate went aloft with his glass, and soon reported 
that no living creature appeared on deck. Some objects 
which he supposed to be bodies lay scattered here and there. 

" Back the main-yard !" and, in a few minutes, the 
Niantic was bowing and curtseying gracefully a short dis- 
tance to windward of the silent stranger. 

As no answer came to our hail we lowered away, and, 
passing under her stern, read, " Victoria, Copenhagen." 

Making fast to her main-chains, we jumped aboard, and 
gazed in mute astonishment and awe at the strange sight 
that met our eyes. 



SILENT STRANGERS. 1 49 

Stretched out at full length, with his face downwards and 
his hand clenched in agony, lay the form of a seaman. 

Cautiously turning him over to ascertain if he still 
breathed, a sickening spectacle presented itself in the eyes 
starting from their sockets, the yellow face and the pro- 
truding tongue. He was of course stone-dead, and had 
been so for some time, for the body was partially dried up 
by the scorching rays of the sun beating down upon the 
unprotected deck. 

On the fore-hatch we found another ; a third victim had 
met the Destroyer's last blow on the to'gallant fo'castle. 

Where were the rest ? Had they saved their lives by 
flight, or were they, too, dead and rotting below ? 

The fetid atmosphere which pervaded the fo'castle told 
all too plainly the sad story which a hasty examination 
verified. In the cabin the captain and his companions lay 
dead in their berths. 

All had, doubtless, perished from yellow-fever, and, not 
wishing to stay any longer where we were exposed to fruit- 
less danger, we hastily examined the brig's papers, and 
found that she had sailed from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for 
Copenhagen with a cargo of coffee and hides. 

Of course we could do nothing else than leave her as we 
found her. Any other line of action would have voided our 
insurance policy. A man of war or a whaler might have 
put a crew on board, and taken her into the nearest port, 
thereby gaining a snug little sum of salvage money, but for 
us this was impossible, and our crew were only too glad to 
leave to others a prize which was likely to cost so dear. 
So we pulled aboard with a will, and, hoisting up the boat, 
filled away and stood on our course, breathing more freely 
when the Victoria was hull down astern. 

But, although out of sight, she was not out of mind. The 
old shell-backs of the fo'castle filled our waking hours with 



150 SHELLBACK. 

gruesome yarns, and our sleep with horrible dreams of suffer- 
ing and death on ship-board. 

We were now in the Horse latitudes, the delights of 
which had been fully appreciated by your humble servant 
when on board the Paget. Nor was any change for the 
better perceptible. Baffling winds ; continuous rain, with 
drops almost as large as nuts ; intense heat that made the 
pitch bubble out of the sides and the deck ; plenty of dis- 
comfort; no stint of growling, grumbling, cursing, swearing, 
bracing and hauling, but scarcely a puff of wind in spite of 
most conscientious whistling for a breeze. 

One afternoon, as the brassy glare of the fiery sun blazed 
upon the waveless sea, one of the men hauled up a bottle 
which had drifted alongside. " Rum, I hope ; gin, I guess ; 
tracts, by jingo !" muttered Bill Chapman, who, despite his 
previous good resolutions, would, I fear, have very eagerly 
welcomed a glass of grog to cheer his spirits. 

It proved to be neither rum, nor gin, nor tracts, but papers 
of some sort written in Dutch, and unintelligible to us, so 
they were taken aft to Mr. Capie, and proved to be papers 
which the captain of the Victoria had thrown overboard. 
These sad memorials of a gallant crew narrated a long and 
desperate struggle for life aboard of the unfortunate brig. 

The yellow-fever had been raging at Rio de Janeiro, and, 
despite every precaution, had been brought aboard the 
Victoria. 

Scarcely were they out of sight of the coast of South 
America when two of the crew sickened and died, the con- 
tagion spread, and, at the time the captain confided his 
message to the deep, he and one of the seamen were the 
only ones alive. A list of the officers and crew, with the 
places from which they hailed and a prayer to God for 
mercy, closed this dreary document. 

Here, then, perhaps in this very spot were we lay rolling 
and tumbling, had the poor fellows of the Victoria writhed 



THORNS STORIES. 151 

in their death struggles without a friendly hand to moisten 
their fevered lips with a drop of water. 

" With noiseless tread death comes on man; 
In the midst of life's unfinished plan, 
With sudden hand it snatches him. 
Ready or not ready, there's no delay, 
Forth into the unknown he must away." 

Of a verity the spectre of the fever-stricken brig seemed 
to hang like a nightmare about us, and we longed for a 
breeze to waft us out of an atmosphere which appeared 
tainted with pestilence and death. 

" That reminds me," said the never-ending Tom Thorn, 
" of the time I was in the bark Swallow, bound from Am- 
bris to Cienfuegos. The coast fever broke " 

" Damn and sink you and your blasted yarns," roared 

Chapman, " d'ye think we want to listen to such bl dy 

stuff. I, for one, have had more than my allowance of it." 

"Who the hades asked you to listen to it," retorted Thorn, 
and a quarrel seemed imminent, when a puff of air aloft 
and a slight ripple attracted the attention of all to the com- 
ing of the long prayed-for breeze. 

Rounding in the starboard braces, and boarding the fore 
and main tacks, and trimming aft their sheets as well as 
the head and spanker sheets, we had the unspeakable relief 
to see that the wind was freshening and blowing steadily 
from the north' ard and east'ard. 

Thorn's stories were forgotten. We bade a hearty adieu 
to the doldrums, and with a clean full went tearing along 
towards the line and the Cape of Good Hope. For three 
entire weeks the winds blew from the same quarter with but 
little variation, and we started neither tack nor sheet, brace 
or halliard, except to sway taut in the last dog-watch. 

Now I began to experience some of the pleasures of a 
long voyage. The days passed delightfully in various little 
jobs around decks and aloft, or in assisting one of the able- 
seamen, generally Chapman, on some fine work in the rig- 



152 DOLPHINS. 

ging ; rattling, setting up, rope-making (for we had a winch 
aboard), and with capping the ends of the rigging. 

Of course " chin-music " was supplied in abundance by 
the old salts, who always had a yarn to spin apropos to the 
occasion. A new hand, or one who had never been in the 
" doldrums " before, had a mouthful of stories for us in the 
fo'castle, and one of them may be worth repeating. Speak- 
ing of the girl he had left behind him on a former voyage, 
his mother had reported to him, on his return, how dis- 
consolate she had been, when she was not indignant at his 
sudden departure. One day between her fits of scolding 
and crying she hoped he would have gales of wind — -gales 
and gales of wind. My mother, who was a widow of an old 
sailor, and had made two or three voyages with her husband, 
said, " Tut, tut, my child, don't wish that, for all that they 
would do then, would be to put the ship under close-reefed 
main-top sail and heave to ; the sailors then would have 
nothing to do but to sit under the lee of the long-boat and 
spin yarns about you and me. No, no ! if you would punish 
him, wish for light and variable, baffling, disappointing 
whiffles of wind, with small rain, big ropes and small blocks, 
and only one stun'sail boom. Aha ! that'll work him up, 
and to your heart's content." 

The waters were alive with albacores, bonetas, skip-jacks, 
dolphins, and flying-fish darting from crest to crest, now 
flashing through the air, even plunging into the waves to 
escape their finny or their feathered foes : a light placed in 
the weather fore-shrouds at night-time would bring scores 
of these beautiful little fish on our decks. 

At other times would be seen the elegant little bark of 
the argonaut, or paper nautilus, so called from the delicate 
fragility of its sculptured shell, and its purity of tint, hoist- 
ing its membraneous sails to the breeze, and rowing itself 
along with double-banked oars or tentacles ; or, perhaps, 
another variety known as the " Portuguese man-of-war." 



MAN OF WAR. 153 

This is a soft nautilus, without shell, which looks as if con- 
structed of the most transparent Bohemian glass, of a hue 
somewhat like an amethyst. These float by on the waves, 
and are to be seen of all dimensions down to the tiniest 
pink bubble. 

" Light as a flake of foam upon the wind, 
Keel upward from the deep emerged a shell, 
Shaped like the moon ere half her horn is filled, 
Fraught with young life, it righted as it rose, 
And moved at will along the yielding water, 
The native pilot of this little bark, 
Put out a tier of oars on either side, 
Spread to the wafted breeze a twofold sail, 
And mounted up and glided down the billow 
In happy freedom, pleased to feel the air, 
And wander in the luxury of light." 

Now turn from the blue enameled ocean to the air, and 
observe the whole horizon teeming with bird-life. Con- 
spicuous over all is the kingly albatross, soaring on his 
magnificent pinions, appearing at times as if suspended in 
the air. These, with Cape hens, molly hawks, Cape pigeons, 
etc., follow the good ship without cessation ; rapidly wheel- 
ing about, crossing and recrossing each other in giddy 
flight, hour by hour and day by day, possibly for even 
months together. 

As far as can be seen they never rest on the waves. 
When met with they are often miles away from the nearest 
land. Yet dawn succeeds dawn, and there they are still 
hovering in our wake, eagerly looking out for anything in 
the shape of food that may be hove overboard. Such is 
their keenness of sight that nothing escapes their notice. Of 
all these winged attendants, none is so beautiful as the Cape 
pigeon, with its dappled black and white plumage. We 
caught several of these pretty birds by lengths of strong 
thread which we floated from the taff rail, and in one instance 
we hitched a piece of colored bunting to his pinion where it 
joins the body, and, letting him loose, had great interest in 
watching him morning after morning still in our company 
until we got out of the latitudes of such pretty attendants. 



i54 



ALBATROSS 



One day we caught a very large albatross, most irreverently 
and unpoetically dubbed "goney" by seamen. 

A stout line and a chunk of pork fastened to a small 
block of wood as a float were sufficient to land one of these 
famous sea-birds on our decks, for having once seized the 
dainty morsel they will never let go until it and they are on 
deck together. 

Once on deck they are unable to escape, for the even sur- 
face prevents them from using to advantage their immense 
wings. Our captive was about seven feet high, and his 
wings about eighteen feet from tip to tip. 

There he stood a prisoner, but a very formidable one ; 
none of us cared to expose ourselves to a blow of his wings, 
or a snap of his frightful hooked beak. 

We had two dogs aboard, one a Newfoundlander of 
medium size, the other a black-and-tan, and they soon came 
nosing around the intruder. The larger dog, after taking 
stock of the enemy from a safe distance, was prudent 
enough to choose the flank and rear as his point of attack, 
and even then he displayed much less valor than discretion, 
evincing a rooted and instinctive dislike to any close 
acquaintance with wings or beak. 

The old rogue seemed to be waiting until his younger 
and more imprudent ally had paid for his temerity by being 
impaled in his goneyship's beak, at which moment our 
canine friend expected to convert his feint into an assault, 
and seize his enemy by the neck. 

A frantic howl of pain and terror, and the next moment 
Snap was dangling in the air, the loose skin of his back 
affording the albatross a secure hold, and preventing the 
infuriated bird from doing the dog more serious injury. 
Now was Nero's opportunity, but so appalling were the 
howls of Snap that his ally was thoroughly demoralized, 
and, with his tail between his legs, made hot haste to gain 
the cabin. 



GONEY KILLED. 155 

At last one of our men who had been on a whaler, and 
who caught and helped to eat many a goney, took the 
bird by the throat, and chopping the head off, released poor 
Snap, who tore aft with a hole in his skin as a memorial of 
his prowess. 

Our ex-whalemen cleaned and polished up the beak and 
presented it to the captain ; the rough skin of the web-feet 
was converted into tobacco pouches ; the long feathers were 
distributed among the crew, the wings were stuffed and 
cleaned, the bones preserved as "curios," and next day 
our shipmate invited us to partake of an Irish-stew made 
out of the goney aforesaid. 

In spite of the relish with which he swallowed down 
huge chunks of the meat, we did not take to it ; for it 
tasted to me much more fishy than porpoise ; so we left him 
and Bill Chapman to finish the mess between them. 

Having now reached 40 south latitude, we gradually 
fell in with the prevailing westerly winds, and, squaring 
yards, stood away to the eastward, passing the longitude of 
the Cape of Good Hope, and entering the Indian Ocean. 

The unusual cry, " Land ho !" at daybreak one morning, 
startled me out of a most comfortable nap. 

" What land can it be ?" said I to my friend Chapman. 

"There's nothing about here but St. Paul's and Amster- 
dam, he answered ; we're too far to the nor'ard to sight 
Desolation. All three of them are desolate enough for that 
matter, and are of no use except for castaways, and mighty 
little good to them." 

These Islands, St. Paul's and Amsterdam, lie in about 37 
30' south and 78 E. 

They are, as Chapman said, desolate rocks in the midst of 
the Indian Ocean, and of little benefit except to shipwrecked 
seamen, who, having reached their barren shores, may 
manage to survive until they attract the attention of some 
passing ship. St. Paul has a spring of water drilled out of 



156 DESOLATION. 

the rock on the lee or east side of the island, which was 
done by the Dutch East India Company nearly two hundred 
years ago, at a time when large bodies of troops were con- 
veyed in their ships to their numerous and rich possessions 
in the East. With the humane intention of assisting any 
unfortunates who might be on the islands, Captain Griswold 
gave orders to stand to the southward of the island of St. 
Paul so as to be able to round to under the lee, close in 
shore, firing a short 12 lb. carronade from time to time, and 
keeping a sharp look out. This was done, but with no an- 
swer except the echo that reverberated amid the hollows of 
the cliffs. 

" What's her course now?" said I to Chapman, as he came 
from the wheel. 

" Nor'east by north for the Straits of Sunda and the 
China Sea; but we shan't be able to make the passage 
direct up the China Sea this voyage. We shall have to 
make the eastern passage, sighting Sandalwood and through 
the Banda Sea away to the outside of Mindanao and the 
Phillipine Islands. To make this passage our course from 
here is about nor'east by half east — curse the luck." 

" Why can't we sail through the Straits, Bill ?" 

" Why can't we go through the Straits ? Why, because we 
can't; that's why," said Bill in a very surly tone. 

" But I don't see why we couldn't, for all that," persisted I. 

" Why, confound it, boy, do you want a master of this or 
any other ship to be blasted fool enough to tear his ship to 
pieces trying to beat dead to wind'ard for well nigh unto 
two thousand mile through the narrow sea, with a living gale 
in his teeth the whole way ?" 

" But how do you know we should have head-winds all 
the way ?" 

"How do I know, eh! Well, I'll be blowed ! Did ye 
ever hear of the ' monsoons ?' " 



JACK LENINE. 157 

" Yes, I may have heard tell of them, Bill, but you must 
remember that this is my first voyage to China, and you'll 
have to teach me a good many things, and not growl at me, 
unless you want me to ask Tom Thorn or Jack Lenine." 

'' Well, supposing I did growl ! A good growl is better 
than a bad feed. It's enough to make a man growl, to think 
of having to go knocking about among a d lot of pi- 
ratical islands four or five thousand miles out of your 
course." 

'' Well, it can't be helped." 

" But, look here, George, you musn't mind me when I'm 
in the blues, and you needn't ask Tom Thorn or Jack 
Lenine nor anybody else for'ard for information as long as 
Bill Chapman's aboard. So you don't know about the mon- 
soons, eh ! Well, I'll tell you, if you can get a chart or a 
map of any sort." 

" Now, then, here we are at St. Paul's and laying our 
course nor'east by north. If we have a good breeze, we 
ought to be up to the Straits of Sunda in about five weeks. 
After you pass through the Straits, Hong Kong, Macao, and 
the Bocca Tigris, that's the Canton river, you know, bears 
about north by east about two thousand miles off, and that's 
the course we'd steer, only for the d monsoons." 

" You never knew about the monsoons, eh ! Well, they 
blow down the China seas from nor'east to sou'west from 
October to April all through the winter and spring. Now 
we're in November; we wouldn't be near the Straits till 
December, and you see we should have the nor'east mon- 
soons dead in our teeth for four months to come. No use 
in trying to beat against them, I tell you." 

" In April, around they go and commence blowing from 
the sou'west and keep at it till October again. Talk about 
gales of winds ! Talk about a heavy sea ! Why some of 
those Western Ocean laborers on board of the Columbus and 
such similar craft, who blowed about hurricanes and cyclones, 



158 MONSOON. 

don't know what a real blow is like. They should be out in 
April or October down abreast of Luzon, when, at the 
change of the monsoon the typhoon comes down blowing fit 
to make you bald-headed. Them's the holy terrors, and no 
mistake." 

" Well, now then, sonny, we shan't go through the Straits, 
that's settled. The old man will make a landfall off the 
sou'eastern end of the Island of Java and bear away to the 
east'ard until he sights Sandalwood; then we'll get into the 
Banda Sea and the Molucca Passage, and keep outside of 
the Philippines to get the variable winds, and when we are 
in the latitude of Formosa we shall have the wind free, even 
if we do not catch the tail-end of the monsoon, and a few 
days' sail will see us anchored in Hong Kong. I wish we 
were there. Take your chart away, I'm tired of looking at 
it. Blow, good breeze." 

My chum was heartily weary of the long voyage, and I 
was extremely eager to put foot on shore again. 

The wind continuing favorable we sighted the eastern ex- 
tremity of Java in about five weeks and bore away to the 
east'ard past the islands of Bally, Lombock and Sumbawa, 
until we sighted Sandalwood in 9 45' S., 120 E., when we 
hauled to the nor'ard and passed through the Straits of 
Sapy, between Sumbawa and Komodo. 

We were now in the Macassar Sea, directly south of the 
island of Celebes. 

I may here state that the island known to sailors as San- 
dalwood is named in several charts Trendana or Trumba. It 
is in latitude io° south and longitude 120 east, bearing 
southeast from Sumbawa and south of the western part of 
Flores. 

Extreme vigilance was now more important than ever; in- 
numerable islands were on every side of us; the seas were 
narrow and dangerous, our charts not over reliable, the 
winds variable and uncertain, violent squalls of frequent oc- 



PROAS. I59 

currence, and above all, the natives who swarmed on these 
islands, and infested these seas, were treacherous, savage 
and piratical, ever ready to rob and slay. 
Well may it be said that these are the isles 

" Where every prospect pleases, 
And man alone is vile. 

During the day we passed island after island, each sur- 
passing in beauty the one that preceded it, the rich woods 
resonant with the songs of birds, and the smooth white sand- 
beaches forming a line of silver which stood out in bold re- 
lief between the forests and the sea. As night fell, the stars 
shone forth with dazzling brilliancy, and the stars of the 
Southern Cross sparkled like diamonds set in the deep azure 
of the firmament. The moon shed her mild radiance over 
the phosphorescent waters and lit up the deep recesses of the 
forests on the shore. 

One morning while threading our way through the count- 
less islands of the Macassar Sea, the light wind died away 
and we were entirely becalmed. Instantly, as if by magic, a 
line of dusky athletic forms gathered upon the beach and 
stood watching us intently, gesticulating in the most frantic 
manner. At last, as if by a common impulse, they rushed 
down to a small cove which ran inland a considerable dis- 
tance, and in a few minutes we were dismayed at seeing a 
whole fleet of proas filled with armed Malays pulling toward 
us in the form of a crescent. 

Alarmed beyond measure at the imminence of the danger 
and our comparatively defenceless condition, we hastily mus- 
tered what arms we possessed, and made ready to repel 
boarders, determined to sell our lives dearly. What the 
issue might have been I cannot tell, for, when the proas and 
their villainous-looking crews were within five hundred yawds 
of us, a kindly Providence sent a refreshing breeze, and we 
escaped most certain capture, and, doubtless, a horrible 



l6o HONG KONG. 

death. There are blood-curdling tales about the man-eating 
habits of those dusky devils. Ah! 

We next passed the Banda Sea, picking our way through 
the archipelago called the Spice Islands, and, with a spank- 
ing breeze from the south'ard left the Malaccas and found 
ourselves in the open ocean to the east'ard of the Phillip- 
pines. 

In a few days more we bore away to the west'ard, and, 
sighting the bold Chinese coast, came to an anchor in Hong 
Kong roads, after a passage of 120 days from port to port. 

Hong Kong is an island on the coast of China, and con- 
tained then only a fishing hamlet, with a joss-house in the 
centre of the habitations. After remaining a few days at 
Hong Kong we received a " chop," or government permit, to 
proceed to Canton, or rather Whampoa, sixteen miles below, 
which is the anchorage for all foreign vessels, and which are 
not allowed to proceed any nearer to Canton. Arriving at 
our anchorage (Whampoa) after a day's sail from Hong 
Kong, and mooring ship under the guidance of a native 
pilot, we were immediately surrounded by a regular shoal of 
sanpans, wash-boats, hoppo-boats, compradores and others, 
all eager for a chance of making the mighty dollar, an 
instinct as potent in the eastern as in the western mind. I 
may here mention for the edification of those who are inter- 
ested in " political economy" that the washerwoman in her 
sanpan will wash and mend the clothes for the seamen, irre- 
spective of the time the ship may remain, for the sum of one 
dollar, charging proportionably more for the officers. She 
will also fill the mattresses with fresh bamboo shavings, 
making a bed not to be excelled; also, when the ship leaves 
for home, giving to each one a "cumshaw" or present, gene- 
rally a large pot of preserved ginger, all for the same charge. 
After meals they would come on board and collect the scraps 
that were left, on which they dined "sumptuously." 



l62 SAMSHU. 

As soon as our ship was secured at her moorings we un- 
bent sails, spread awnings fore and aft to protect us from 
the rays of the tropical sun, and made all snug for our stay. 
A boat's crew was then picked out, composed of the young- 
est hands, myself being one of the number, whose duty it was 
to row the captain up to Canton nearly every day, except Sun- 
day, and back, a pull of sixteen miles each way, a pretty good 
task in that climate. We would leave the ship at four in the 
morning and return late at night, escaping the heat of mid- 
day. During the boat's stay at Canton she was given in 
charge of a keeper from the " Factory," the captain giving 
each of us fifty cents for rations, which amount was invested 
in (do not turn away in disgust, my gentle reader) rat or 
puppy, and eggs washed down with " samshu," a native 
spirit distilled from "paddy," or unhulled rice, unrectified, 
and much more apt to produce delirium tremens than "Jersey 
lightning." 

One day, while employed in the above duty, and meeting 
with several boats' crews belonging to other American ves- 
sels, also on the same duty, with whom I indulged in various 
potations of " samshu," I became so very drunk that upon 
the return of the boat to the ship I was unable to use my 
oar, but was conveyed on board, stowed for'ard under the 
bow grating. When we came alongside the ship at night I 
somehow clambered on board, and down 'tween decks, 
where we had our hammocks slung, and where we lived. A 
barrel of salt meat was lying on its bilge, and close beyond 
it another on its head. I stumbled over the first, struck the 
chime of the second, and cut a fearful gash between my 
nose and eyebrow, the mark of which I bear to this day. I 
fell over on the deck unconscious, and remained so all 
night, lying in a pool of blood until morning. When all 
hands were called I was still in the same position, and 
the mate coming down to see what had become of me, and 
seeing the state I was in, thought I was dead. I was carried 



DANGEROUS WORK. 



163 



on deck and into the cabin, where stimulants were adminis- 
tered. After some time I was restored to consciousness, my 
wound sewed up, and, in a few days was able to resume duty. 
We had now a very responsible duty to perform, viz. : to 
transport to Canton the treasure we had on board, consisting 
of 150,000 Spanish pillar dollars. Our "long-boat" was got 
ready for this purpose, and the most resolute of our crew 
armed. On our passage up the river we had to run the 
gauntlet of an assemblage of Chinese " canaille" who assailed 
us with showers of stones, which they are very expert in 
throwing. Our men did not dare to fire, for it was blood 




CANTON BELLES. 

for blood with the " Chinese laws" then, and may be so now 
for aught I know. However, the delivery of the treasure to 
the "American factory" was safely accomplished. 

Our ship had now to be prepared for receiving homeward 
cargo (after discharging our pigs of lead), which generally 
from this port consists of tea, silk and cassia. In order to 



164 KILLING RATS. 

protect such a cargo from destruction from rats, the ship 
must be thoroughly fumigated and the vermin suffocated by 
charcoal fires. 

The manner of proceeding is to build a large charcoal 
fire on top of the ballast, under the main-hatchway, firmly 
sealing up every aperture to exclude air and to prevent any 
escape of "gas," the fo'castle, cabin, stern dead-lights, 
and in fact every opening fore and aft, being thoroughly 
secured. The crew and officers have to remove for the 
night and sleep on board of some other ship, leaving, how- 
ever, an anchor watch on board, which is relieved every 
hour. This precaution has to be taken in case of fire, and 
to protect the ship from the thieving propensities of the 
Chinese, who, if they had the chance, would strip her of 
everything they could lay hands on, even to her copper 
sheathing. The next morning the hatches are taken off, and 
at that time three barrels of rats were collected and sold to 
a Chinaman. 

At the time of which I write it was a common practice 
when in port, or in very fine weather at sea also, to scrape 
and burnish the ship's sides, but now it is obsolete and not 
practiced either in American, Dutch or Scandinavian ships. 
A sad accident occurred whilst performing this work which 
occasioned the loss of seven of our crew, and from whose 
sad fate your humble servant had the barest escape. The 
proverb, "Caution is the mother of safety," had been fatally 
neglected in this case, for the stage we used for the men to 
work on, and which was slung over the side, consisted of a 
ladder which had been broken in the middle and fished, a 
board being laid along on top to sit on when at work scrap- 
ing. I had told the chief mate of the insecurity of it fre- 
quently, and whenever I had to work on it always practiced 
"self-preservation" by setting on one end where I would sit 
with the stage ropes between my legs. Whilst we were all 
busy at work I heard a sudden snapping and at once grasped 



SEVEN MEN LOST. 1 65 

the stage ropes and clambered on deck; looking astern I 
beheld my comrades plunged into the river where the tide 
was running not much less than eight miles an hour, with a 
strong under tow from which it was impossible, with the 
utmost effort, to rescue them. As for the crews of the san- 
pans and bum-boats by which we were surrounded, they 
made no attempt at rescue, for a Chinaman will not exert 
himself to save the life of a foreigner or a Chinese female. 

This sad loss, as may be imagined, gave a melancholy 
tone to our ship's company during our stay in China and 
after our departure, and illustrates that not only in the 
tempest does " Jack " require the protection of the *' tradi- 
tional cherub " that sits up aloft. 

It was customary for all the captains of the American 
ships in harbor to meet on each ship in rotation and dine 
together on Sunday. On the occasion of the festive meet- 
ing being held on board of the Niantic our steward, having 
prepared some extra nice pastry, of which he felt some pro- 
fessional pride, resigned it to the. care of the cook to bake, 
but, to the mortification of the steward, he found it spoiled 
by being scorched. The steward accused the cook of having 
done so intentionally, and with malice aforethought. The 
steward naturally complained to the captain, who, ordering 
him aft, administered a scathing rebuke, accompanied with 
the threat of having him seized up in the main rigging and 
severely flogged should he repeat the offence. Now this 
cook was a sullen negro, a native of the island of Martinique, 
of very short stature, but immensely powerful, being what 
is called double-jointed. Beside this cook I was the only 
one on board who could speak French, and he accordingly 
made a confidant of me. He told me that the steward and 
he had been shipmates years previously in a piratical vessel 
commanded by the famous "Gibbs," who, with Wansley, was 
executed for piracy in New York harbor in 1831. He 
also told me that on leaving New York he had sworn to kill 



CHOPS. 167 

that mulatto " of a " before the voyage was over. 

This threat was carried out to the letter some thirteen 
months later when off the Madagascar coast, on our passage 
home. 

To resume. At last our outward cargo began to arrive in 
"chops" (lighters). These were accompanied by the Chi- 
nese weigher in his stately barge, who came on board with 
his staff of teapot, cups, scale, and tea-table bearers, and 
who continually sipped tea, as strong as brandy, without 
sugar or milk. We continued taking in cargo for about 
three weeks at intervals until it was all stowed. The inter- 
vals of spare time were busily employed in racking off, 
purifying and refilling water-casks, repairing and setting up 
rigging, tarring down, mending sails, painting ship inside 
and out, yards, masts, mastheads, bowsprit and headgear, 
&c, and finally bending sails. 

Hatches were now battened down, and the good ship 
Niantic was again ready to dare the dangers of the deep on 
her return homeward. Just at this juncture war was declared 
between Great Britain and the Chinese Empire. The forts 
of the " Bogue " or " Bocca Tigris" were armed, the river 
was blockaded with immense rafts, and we were practically 
held prisoners, being denied the privilege of proceeding to 
sea without a chop or permit from the Chinese government. 
Thus we had the mortification of laying war-bound for three 
months, ready for sea, and yet not daring to lift an anchor. 
We had, however, plenty of amusement in watching the mili- 
tary occupations of the Chinese soldiers, and the most 
comical effect was produced by the way the infantry man- 
aged their matchlocks, with which they were armed. 

The front ranks bearing the matchlocks on their should- 
ers, the rear ranks would aim the piece and touch it off with 
a lighted punk; thus the front rank formed merely, as it 
were, a perambulating rest for the matchlocks. The forts 
were armed with cannon made of bamboo, hooped with iron 



l6S MONKEYS. 

hoops, and slung in chains overhead. These were swung to 
and fro when getting range, making the aim most uncertain. 
At last we procured the long-delayed permit, obtained a pilot, 
unmoored, made sail, and proceeded down the river between 
rafts of large timber, with scarcely room to squeeze through. 

Arriving at Macao, a Portuguese colony, where the U. S. 
frigate Columbus, Commander Read, lay in the roads, she 
signalled us to heave to under her lee, when we were 
boarded by one of her double-banked boats bearing official 
dispatches for the secretary of the navy, and inquiring 
whether we could make room for half a dozen seamen 
whose term of service had expired and wished to return 
home (a providential God-send, for the government paid 
ten dollars for each man), and who, although that sum was 
paid, would also stand regular watch. After receiving eight 
men we filled away and stood on our course, entering the 
China Sea with a strong and favorable breeze. 

After a fine passage of nine days down the China Sea, 
being favored by the nor'east monsoon, we anchored at 
Anjer, a point in the Straits of Sunda, which divides Su- 
matra from Java, where we traded for fruits, sugar (jog- 
gery), monkeys, sparrows, and various other articles, giving 
in return pieces of iron hoop, broken knife or razor blades, 
a few pins or needles, or any metallic thing whatever. 

After about a day's stay we weighed anchor, made sail, 
and stood out of the straits into the Indian Ocean, which 
we entered with a splendid gale from the east'ard. In 
eighteen days we reached the longitude of the south point 
of Madagascar, where the quarrel before mentioned be- 
tween our steward and cook culminated in the murder of 
the poor steward. It was my starboard-watch below for 
dinner, and on my going to the cook's galley to get the 
dinner kids for the watch I was taken aback by seeing the 
chief mate (Capie) standing with an uplifted axe over the 
cook, commanding him to drop the butcher's knife with 



QUARRELING. 



169 



which he was attacking the steward, who stood at the 
galley door defending himself with a saucepan. At the com- 
mand of the mate, coupled with his fear of the axe, the 
cook desisted from the attack, but not before the steward 
had received two serious wounds, the hand and wrist hav- 
ing been laid open. 

The cause of the quarrel was that the bread had been 
burned, and this had awakened the old feud. Captain 



,,, m 




ANJER BEAUTY. 

Griswold ordered them both aft, and, after a fair trial, 
condemned the cook to be seized up and flogged. But no 
sooner had sentence been pronounced than the cook rushed 
forward, and down into the fo'castle, opened the lids of 
some of the sea-chests, and frantically searched for a knife or 
some other deadly weapon. He was followed by the two 



170 STEWARD STABBED. 

mates, who struggled to get him on deck, but in vain, 
although both were powerful men (and if the cook had 
secured some weapon he would have killed any one who 
ventured into the fo'castle), and it was not until a four- 
fold tackle had been hooked to the fore top-sail sheets, and 
overhauled down into the fo'castle, and hooked on to him 
with a good selvage strap, which would fetch anything, that 
they got him on deck. He was immediately seized up in 
the rigging, and the mate laid on one dozen well directed 
blows with a heavy rope's end. On being cut down he 
went to his galley, deliberately took the butcher knife, 
stuck it between a small beam and the galley roof over- 
head, and awaited events. In a few minutes the steward 
came along, and, putting one foot inside the galley, asked 
the cook which was his saucepan. As quick as thought 
the cook jumped up, seized the knife, and plunged it into 
the steward, running the knife completely through him, so 
that the point came out at his back. The steward retreated 
or staggered, with both arms upraised perpendicularly, 
against the ship's side, when the cook sprang over the 
lashed spars after him, and again plunged the knife into 
his left armpit, the point coming out beside the left shoulder 
blade. All this transpired so quickly that none of the 
watch, who were busily engaged in getting a new jib ready 
for bending (it was blowing a gale at the time), had a 
chance to interfere for the steward's protection. The poor 
fellow lingered for about an hour and a half after the stab- 
bing. When he attempted to speak the air would issue 
from his wounds. We committed his body to the deep 
with the prayers usual on such occasions. 

The best notice of a burial at sea that I have seen was 
written by an actor named Henry J. Finn, who was lost on 
the steamer Lexington, burned on Long Island Sound, 
January 13, 1840, with a hundred others, and here is a copy 
from my note book. 



HOMEWARD BOUND. 171 



BURIAL AT SEA. 



Deep mists hung over the mariner's grave 

When the holv funeral rite was read, 
And every breath on the dark blue wave 

Seemed hushed to hallow the friendless dead. 

And heavily heaved on the gloomy sea 

The ship that sheltered that homeless one — 
As though his funeral hour should be 

When the waves were still and the winds were gone. 

And there he lay in his coarse, cold shroud, 

And strangers were 'round the coffinless ; 
Not a kinsman was seen among that crowd, 

Not an eye to weep nor a lip to bless. 

Not a sound from the church's passing bell 

Was echoed along the pathless deep 
The hearts that were far away to tell 

Where the mariner lies in his eternal sleep. 

Not a whisper then lingered upon the air, 

O'er his body one moment his messmates bent. 
But the plunging sound of the dead was there, 

And the ocean now is his monument. 

But many a sigh and many a tear 
Shall be breathed and shed in the hours to come, 

When the widow and fatherless shall hear 
How he died — far, far from his once happy home. 

As for the cook, he was immediately seized by the officers 
and watch on deck, and placed in durable irons, put in the 
sail room, and securely chained to the ship's side. I was 
deputed as his jailor and attendant. Every Sunday I used 
to take his hands out of the irons to allow him to wash. 
Thus he was kept until he was handed over to the author- 
ities on our arrival in New York. After the murder he 
almost every day told me he was glad he had killed the 
mulatto. The cook's name was Jaques Charles, and his 
victim's Charles Edwards, a native of St. Johns, N. B. 
Edwards was a fine specimen of manly symmetry and 
strength. 

The remainder of our passage home was accomplished 
without any more tragedies or mishaps. 

In a few days we lost the Indian trades, and rounding the 
Cape of Good Hope we encountered very heavy weather, 
being compelled to lay to for nineteen days in a fierce gale 
from the west'ard, under a close-reefed main-topsail, foretop- 



172 GREAT FIRE IN NEW YORK. 

mast-staysail, and sometimes a reefed fore-sail. However, 
having the current which sets to the west'ard under our lee, 
we were enabled gradually to make our course slowly. As 
the current was against the wind they managed between 
them to kick up a tremendous sea. We rounded the Cape 
about thirty days after the death of the steward, and making 
about 1,400 miles we struck the sou'east trades, when squar- 
ing yards and piling canvas upon our good ship, we consid- 
ered ourselves fairly homeward bound. In ten days we 
sighted St. Helena, in five more Ascension, and after cross- 
ing the Equator in 20 west longitude lost the sou'east trades 
in about 6° north latitude. 

After a week's baffling winds (which tried the temper of 
the captain, officers and crew), accompanied with torrents of 
rain such as one only sees in the tropics, we fell in with the 
nor'east trades which carried us nearly up to the Bermudas. 
Encountering very heavy weather, with several gales of wind 
in the vicinity of Cape Hatteras and the Gulf Stream, we 
finally took a pilot on board off the Delaware Capes, and in 
two more days came to an anchor in the East river, New 
York, after a passage of one hundred and ten days. 

Here we were back again after an absence of over fifteen 
months from home, during which time we had encountered 
terrific weather soon after leaving port, narrowly escaped 
foundering at sea: in seeing a fever-stricken vessel, whose 
entire crew had fallen victims to the destroyer; losing seven 
men by drowning, and another a victim to revenge at the 
hand of a shipmate, while another was fettered to be deliv- 
ered into the hands of justice. How little is thought when 
Jack embarks as to how and when he will return, or whether 
he will return at a.l. But perhaps it is better so, for if he 
thought too much very likely he wouldn't go to sea at all. 

The first night of our arrival, the 16th of December, 1835, 
we witnessed, as we lay at anchor, the great fire in New York 
which laid waste so much property and ruined so many busi- 



THE COOK TRIED. 173 

ness men and insurance companies. It was a truly awful 
but grand sight, as the fire illuminated the whole harbor, and 
cast the reflections of the shipping in the dark waters, a sight 
never to be forgotten, and in fancy as I write I can recall it 
as though it had happened but yesterday. Twelve acres 
were said to have been burned over. 

After the fire had subsided the chief mate went ashore and 
made affidavit concerning the murder, and officers were sent 
on board who took the cook ashore a prisoner, as well 
as taking the witnesses, I among them, in charge. We were 
taken to the United States Commissioners' Court, where 
the prisoner was committed for trial, and the witnesses held 
in default of bonds. As we would be paid for our time and 
live well with the jail warden at his table, we elected to be 
locked up in preference to giving bonds. After three months 
the cook was brought to trial, and was found guilty of 
murder in the second degree, and was sentenced to be im- 
prisoned for five years at hard labor. 

Nine years later I saw him in the capacity of cook on 
board the ship Jessore of Boston, which vessel was lying be- 
calmed a few degrees to the west'ard of the sou'east point 
of the island of Java, bound to Sourabaya for rice. I was 
one of the boat's crew that boarded her. I was then in the 
clipper brig Fagle, built expressly for the opium contraband 
trade on the coast of China, regarding which I shall relate 
hereafter. 

During my detention in the " City Prison," New York, as 
a witness, I, of course, made the acquaintance of several 
sailors who were detained for various reasons; some as wit- 
nesses for mutinies, others as witnesses of cruelties committed 
by officers on seamen, etc. But being a favored guest I was 
allowed to go and come as I pleased, having only to report 
every twenty-four hours. In the course of my rambles I 
visited one sailors boarding-house and another, and would 
often return with a sail-bag filled with bottles of liquor 



174 IN prison. 

packed in straw, and, placing it inside the railing outside the 
prison, one of the sailors in the prison, who were on the 
look-out for me, would send down a line through the 
bars, which I would make fast to the bag, and they would 
haul up the bag and take the bottles out. There were at 
that time about a dozen seamen in the jail, and these would 
get gloriously drunk. The officials could never discover 
how the liquor was obtained. One particular night, when 
they were well filled with liquor, they made a raid on the 
rooms occupied by the debtors, who were at that time im- 
prisoned for debt, and taking or capturing cots, tables, chairs, 
etc. (private property of the debtors) by force, took them 
down into the corridor and made a large bonfire. There 
was a great uproar, as may be supposed. The fire-bells 
were rung, the prison officials were bewildered, and the 
" leather-heads" (as the city police or night watchmen were 
then called) assisted in quenching the fire and preserving 
order. 

I had no hand in these proceedings, for I was not in the 
prison at the time, being out on parole, and as the officials 
could make no discovery as to how the liquor was obtained, 
the matter was allowed to die a natural death. 



Chapter VI. 

Once more upon the waters ! yet once more ! 

And the waves bound beneath me as a steed 
That knows his rider. Welcome to their roar ! 

Swift be their guidance, whereso'er it lead." 

As I remarked toward the close of last chapter, how little 
Jack thinks how and when he will return, so did I little think 
when my money, both from my ship and from the government 
as a witness in the murder case, being all spent, I shipped on 
board the bark Rapid, Captain Ward, engaged in the Cuba 
trade, that before I returned I should go upon what, in those 
days, was facetiously termed a "blackbirding cruise." That 
means a voyage in a slaver. Yet, so it was. But I am free 
to say one such cruise was quite enough for me. 

We got out to sea under canvas in charge of the pilot, 
hove to off the light-ship, where he was discharged, and with 
the wind nor'east proceeded on our voyage. The wind 
freshened so much as night came on that we were compelled 
to reduce sail until we were staggering along under double- 
reefed topsails, and whole courses with jib and spanker, we 
being on the larboard tack with the wind two points abaft 
the beam. 

This wind held on for several days and brought us into 
the nor'east trade winds. After a fine passage of eight days 
we came to anchor in the harbor of Havana. Having dis- 
charged our cargo of miscellaneous goods and " Yankee no- 
tions" we commenced receiving homeward cargo of box 
sugar, which came alongside in lighters. With our cargo all 
in and ready for sea it was customary for the crew to have a 
holiday ashore just previous to sailing. They were allowed 
to go by watches, one half the first day and the other the 
next. When my turn came, and I was enjoying my leave in 
usual sailor-like fashion, I met a Frenchman belonging to a 



176 



BLACKBIRDING. 



large ship also lying in the harbor, who was on the same job 
as myself, namely, that of enjoyment. He told me that he 
intended to desert from his ship, where he only received fifty 
francs a month, while he could get over six hundred in 
another business. I inquired in what line, and, pointing to 
a fine-looking clipper bark at anchor in the offing, he de- 




leaving THE BARK RAPID. 



formed me that she was waiting for a crew for the purpose of 
going to the African coast for a cargo of slaves. The wages 
were to be $120 a month and a slave apiece. 

At my suggestion we walked down the mall, and soon saw 
a boat shove off from her and pull toward us. Two swarthy 
but well-dressed men stepped ashore, and the Frenchman 



BLACKBIRDING. 177 

addressing one of them in Spanish, which I understood, 
asked him if he wanted a crew. He replied that he required 
forty active, resolute men, who would not be scrupulous 
about the business in which they would be engaged. He 
readily informed us of the nature of the business, and said if 
we wished to join we should be paid $120 a month with a 
nigger drawn by lot. 

I immediately agreed to join, and going on board the 
Rapid collected my clothing during my anchor watch, hauled 
up the small boat that was towing astern, and jumping into 
her, with my "dry goods," rapidly sculled off to the bavk Amis- 
tad, and set foot on her deck just as the anchor watch had 
struck eight bells (4 a. m.) 

After breakfast I was called to the cabin to sign articles, 
which stated that we were bound on a commercial voyage to 
the " west coast of Africa." 

The next day we completed our quota of the crew, and 
were informed by the lieutenant (the title given to the sec- 
ond in command or chief mate on board Spanish or French 
vessels), that we should sail during the night to avail our- 
selves of the land breeze which sets off the land at that time. 
If any of us wished to go ashore we might do so, but we 
were to be sure and come on board at sun-down. 

At the stated time, we were all ready, hove short, loosed 
sails, and waited for the land breeze, and as it sprung up and 
fanned our fevered and anxious brows, we hove up, made 
all sail, and, standing out of the harbor past the " Morro 
Castle " we entered the Carribean Sea, heading to the north- 
'ard under the influence of the trade-wind, with a clean 
full on the starboard tack, with all the sail we could carry. 
We showed such a pair of heels that would have puzzled 
any British cruiser that might have wanted to overhaul us — 
eleven knots an hour, within five points or less of the wind. 
I have seen her working to wind'ard at nine points on both 
tacks. 



178 



BARRACOONS. 



We stood on this tack, and having cleared the Straits of 
Florida, and reached 30 N. latitude, she was slewed round 
on the other tack and stood to the south'ard and east'ard, 
crossing the Gulf Stream, weathering the Bahamas and the 




Jsfe 

■--: ■ '. - 



^■s*- 'US'.. 

"blackbirds" under cocoanut trees. 

entire West India Islands, going clean, full, close-hauled, 
and on the larboard tack for twelve days, when the trade- 
winds, hauling more to the south'ard and east'ard, and being 
near the Brazilian coast, tacked ship and pointed her for 



BARRACOONS. 1 79 

the African coast, then distant about 3,000 miles, keeping a 
lookout at the mast-head night and day. 

After a passage of twenty-five days we came to an anchor 
off " Ambriz," a Portuguese trading colony consisting merely 
of a collection of mud huts and " Ham Barracoons." 

Here we lay at anchor, with slip ropes and buoys on our 
cables ready for slipping and standing out to sea on the 
first appearance of any British man-of-war who might wish 
to interfere with our " commercial enterprise." Sails all 
ready for setting without going aloft, being merely stopped 
with twine which could be broken from the deck, and, in 
fact, everything ready at a moment's notice to slip off and 
show any Britisher the way to walk. 

We soon negotiated for about 1,100 " birds " (blackbirds) 
of whom two-thirds were stout adults, the remainder con- 
sisting of women and full-grown boys. These poor wretches 
had been taken prisoners of war in tribal battles, and were 
thus disposed of like so many cattle. 

They were kept in barracoons ashore until such time as 
we were ready to take them aboard, when a party of our 
crew, supplied with manacles, landed, and driving the 
negroes to the beach, branded them between the shoulders 
with the name of the ship. Fifty at a time were huddled 
then into a large boat, or lighter, owned by the people on 
shore, and, being alongside, were hurried on deck, and 
finally below. The men were put in the main hold, the 
women in the cabin, and the boys in the fo'castle. Officers 
and crew lived on the homeward passage on deck. 

After lying ten days at our anchorage off " Ambriz," which 
is at the mouth of a river of the same name, and having 
filled up with our cargo of live stock, with a supply of water 
and provisions on board, we hove up, made all sail, and 
stood out to sea with our living cargo of 1,150 "black- 
birds." 

The wind being about S. S. W. we laid our course going 



l8o ISLE OF PINES. 



two points free, but were hardly out of sight of the coast 
when to us the exciting cry was heard " Sail, ho, on the 
weather bow." She was about two points forward of the 
beam, and was going free, and to all appearance was a Brit- 
ish cruiser But she gave us no trouble, for, being no match 




SLAVE-SHIP ARRANGED FOR LIVE CARGO. 

for us in point of sailing, before the sun went down she was 
nowhere to be seen even from the to'gallant mast-head, and, 
while we rejoiced over our escape, doubtless our enemies 
were regretting their loss of prize- money, for 

" Sweet is revenge, especially to women ; 
Pillage to soldiers, prize-money to seamen." 

After a swift passage of twenty days, we came to safe and 



ON A SLAVER. 151 

sound within a cables length of the shore of the Isle of 
Pines on the south coast of the Island of Cuba. 

I must here state that during the passage the hatches 
were opened every morning and a detail of half a dozen 
negroes were released and made to clean up the filth, then 
supply the rest with food and water. The women were at- 
tended to in like manner by one or two of their number, 
also the boys, which latter were not manacled to bars as the 
men and women were. Every morning six or eight bodies 
were hove overboard like logs of wood, without either 
shroud or canvas. 

After discharging our human cargo and cleaning up, and 
the crew getting a nigger apiece according to agreement, 
which we sold to the consignee, we got under way for 
Havana preparatory to another voyage to the African coast. 

We arrived in the harbor of Havana in a week after 
leaving the Isle of Pines, having been delayed by light and 
contrary winds interspersed with calms off the southern and 
western coast. 

The voyage for which I had signed being now completed, 
having lasted two and a half months, I received a little over 
six hundred dollars in doubloons, and we scattered in dif- 
ferent dicections, some two-thirds eventually returning to the 
slaver for another voyage to the African coast. But as I 
have said, this soft of " commercial enterprise " not being to 
my mind I, after spending a week ashore in Havana, shipped 
on board the brig Ann McKim, Captain Trask, bound to 
Baltimore, with a cargo of molasses and box sugars, which 
port we reached after a tedious passage of eight days. 

Reaching Baltimore, I shipped in a two top-sail schooner 
called the Isabella, Captain Downs, for New York, with flour 
in barrels, where we arrived after a very pleasant passage of 
four days. 

And now, having my pockets pretty well lined, a desire 
to revisit my native city and sip of the pleasures of " Home, 



182 



HOME, SWEET HOME. 



Sweet Home," came upon me, and I resolved to go to Mon- 
treal, spending a month very pleasantly, seeing old friends, 
" though I scrupulously avoided wealthy relatives," and vis- 
iting well-remembered scenes, for 



" Dear is the schoolboy spot, 
We ne'er forget, 
Though there we are forgot. 




V K<?a£ 



BUMBOAT. 



Chapter VII 



" He that has sailed upon the dark blue sea, 

Has viewed at times, I ween, a full fair sight ; 
When the land breeze is fair as breeze may be, 

The white sail set, the gallant frigate tight, 
Masts, spires, and strand retiring to the sight, 

The glorious main, expanding o'er the bow, 
The convoy spread like wild swans in their flight, 

The dullest sailor wearing bravely now, 
So gaily curl the waves before each dashing prow." 

Having had what I considered enough of home, I re- 
turned to New York and shipped on board the Rome, of 
Salem, Captain Marshall, bound, as the articles read and 
were signed, " to a port or ports in Asia, and back to a port 
of discharge either in Europe or America." We sailed from 
New York in the month of December, 1836, not knowing, 
and caring less, where to in particular. One old experienced 
seaman predicted, from the fact that we had great guns 
under the ballast and were well provided with small arms, 
pikes, cutlasses, and ammunition, that we were bound to 
the west coast of Sumatra for pepper; these having formed 
part of the outfit of the vessels in which he had before 
sailed on such voyages, and being required for protection 
against the piratical population with which that group of 
islands is infested. 

A heavy gale of wind from the nor'west drove us well on 
our easterly course, but the good ship Rome was a dull sailor 
and steered worse, being square both ends, and one of those 
ships "built by the mile and sawed off in lengths to suit." 

After we had reached 8° north, and had been through the 
" Horse latitudes," we struck the nor'east trades, and, 
standing close-hauled for a month on the port tack, we got 
the prevailing westerly winds, doubled the Cape of Good 
Hope, and sailed into the Indian Ocean. 

After a passage of one hundred and eighty days, during 



1 84 



SHIP ROME. 



which we did not speak a single sail nor see anything ex- 
cept the sea and the firmament, with the usual number of 
birds, we at last arrived on the west coast of Sumatra, short 
of water and provisions. The first harbor we made was a 
land-locked bay that indented the coast called " Tampa 
Tuan." Arming a boat's crew of eight oars we pulled for 
the shore, the ship standing off and on, and not coming to 
an anchor. 

On touching the shore, a young seaman and myself being 
bowsmen, jumped ashore to hold the boat, when, to our in- 
tense astonishment and alarm, we were immediately sur- 
rounded by about two or 
three thousand Malays, as 
naked as when they were 
born, but armed with 
" kreeses " (long knives, . 
My mate and I instinct- 
ively grasped our sheath 
knives, resolved to defend 
ourselves if attacked, but 
we were unmolested, as a 
" Geritulas " (Rajah's dep- 
uty or secretary) came 
down to the beach and 
permitted us to get what 
we wished for. 

After procuring a supply of water, yams, buffalo beef, and 
fruits which we paid for, we stood out of " Tampa Tuan," 
and down the coast to the south'ard and east'ard. 

Before coming to an anchor a large "proa" came along- 
side with a " Geritulas " on board who told our captain 
where we could fill up with pepper. 

We had a partial cargo of unbleached cotton goods suit- 
able to the native market which were intended to be bartered 
few: such produce as the captain considered advantageous, 




A GERITULAS. 



WEIGHING PEPPER. 1 85 

and accordingly after reconnoitering the coast, we finally 
came to an anchor at a place called Tarabangan Rayah, but 
with our cable ready to slip in case of emergency. 

We then threw our stone ballast overboard, got the guns 
up and mounted, cleaned the small arms, which were kept in 
the fo'castle, as the Malays invariably murder the officers 
first. 

I will now describe the manner of weighing the pepper, 
which I am sure will convince any one of the vast superi- 
ority of the honest dealing of the so-called Christian over 
the heathen. 

First, the fifty-six pound weights were taken ashore and 

tested, then brought aboard again, when the handles were 

secretly screwed out and the hollow weight filled up with 

small shot, so that our tested weight of fifty-six pounds 

became one of about ninety pounds. Then the Malays would 

lay five bags of pepper at a time on the scale to be weighed, 

consequently five empty bags would require to be placed 

with the weights, in the opposite scale. But the bags which 

we had substituted would weigh double or treble as much 

as those containing the pepper, by reason of their having 

been soaked in brine long before we arrived on the coast, 

besides having heavy pieces of canvas sewn inside of them 

as a lining. 

***** 

An amusing and ludicrous trick used to be played by us 
on the natives, but only resorted to at such times when they 
swarmed in such numbers on our decks that we were in fear 
of some treachery or conspiracy affecting our safety, and 
wanted to clear them off. In such instances we let loose a 
live pig, of which we had several on board, to be turned into 
pork some time or other, and no sooner did our little 
squeaker make his appearance and begin to show his plea- 
sure at being at liberty by running about than they, with 
consternation and alarm in their countenances, hurried off 



186 "no eat pig." 

shouting "Teda, Teda, Macan, Babu!" which, being inter- 
preted, " No, no eat pig," plunged into the sea from the 
ship's rail, as if a whole herd of swine with the devil in them 
was after them. 

Pigs are an abomination and pollution to those of the 
Mahommedan faith, as the natives of Madagascar are. 

When all was in readiness for taking in cargo, a shore 
gang of four men was picked out to accompany the captain 
and supercargo, Mr. Lunt, ashore, and to assist in the 
weighing. 

After weighing enough to make a large surf-boatfull, 
the Malays would load the boat, some steadying it, whilst 
others would man the oars. All being ready, they would 
wait till three heavy rollers had expended themselves, and 
then make a start through the heavy surf, which ran so 
high that at times the bow would be at an angle of 50 , 
or more ; the unpleasant effect of which was not diminished 
by the close company of great numbers of ravenous sharks 
eager for their prey, and which they were pretty sure of 
should the surf-boat get broadside to the surf, which some- 
times has happened. 

When it came on to blow heavy while we were ashore, 
so that we could not return on board, we had to remain 
where we were, sleeping on mats, living on curried fowls 
served on a leaf, and drinking cocoanut milk, while we 
amused ourselves by chewing betelnut mixed with lime, I 
suppose, to aid our digestion ; anyhow, it is the correct 
thing in polite society, and a universal custom. 

On one occasion, when we were thus land-locked, I made 
the acquaintance of the Rajah's factotum or Geritulas — 
prime minister, I suppose. He was an official, who, find- 
ing that I was versed in different languages, offered me a 
position in the Rajah's service, promising to facilitate my 
escape from the ship, and, as an extra inducement, to give 
me four wives, besides slaves. But as Mormonism was not 



1 88 RAJAH OF PEPPERDOM 

then in vogue, and I had parents yet living in America, I 
declined his tempting offer, although the opportunity for 
wealth and honors seemed very alluring. 

At length, after a stay on the cost of six months, and 
having disposed of our cargo of unbleached cotton goods 
before mentioned, and filled the ship with pepper, we made 
ready for the return voyage. But before finally starting, we 
had to sail up the coast to a town called Analaboo to pro- 
cure a fresh upply of provisions, water, yams, etc. We 
reached that place in two days, and completed our outfit 
without delay. 

We finally got under way homeward bound, but for what 
part of the world we were in complete ignorance. 

I ought to tell you what a splendid cure for rheumatism 
it is to stow away pepper between decks in a port in the 
Indian Ocean. The sufferer from rheumatism takes a 
squilgee (an oblong board, with a long handle fitted in its 
center), and shoves the dried and dusty stuff back from 
the hatchway to the sides of the ship, until the space is full 
to the deck. No man can stand the terrible heat and 
stifling dust more than fifteen minutes at a time, so there is 
a chance for curing fifty rheumatic patients at each loading 
of a ship. 

The pepper becomes hard on the upper surface, almost as 
a stone, and always requires breaking up with a pickax at 
the port of delivery. The ship Rome, when laden with 
pepper, was commanded by Captain Marshall, of Beverley, 
Massachusetts. He brought her to Genoa, where I honored 
the memory of Columbus by going to see his house. On 
that voyage we had a Mr. Cassiac as a mate, I think, who 
afterwards became Adjutant-General for the Confederates 
at Richmond, Virginia. 

When we had made sail, and stood out into the Indian 
Ocean, we were much alarmed to find that in rigging out a 
top-mast stun'sail-boom, and setting the sail, the ship 



ST. HELENA. 1 89 

showed a list of four or five streaks, thus showing her 
crank condition, owing to the nature of her cargo and the 
way it was stowed. The crew went aft in a body to the cap- 
tain to express their fears that the ship in her present condi- 
tion would never be able to weather the Cape of Good 
Hope. 

Captain Marshall, who was a very fine man, and of a 
kind, fatherly disposition, endeavored to assuage their fears 
by explaining to them that from his experience in the 
pepper trade their fears were groundless, as the fine sand 
which at starting was all through the pepper, would, by the 
motion of the vessel, gradually find its way to the bottom of 
the vessel or hold, and would long before reaching the 
Cape make her sufficiently stiff. 

However, to give them perfect confidence, he ordered the 
ship to be put dead before the wind, and as much pepper 
as could be got on deck in the wake of the watches, the 
anchors to be stowed as far below as possible, with the 
chain-cables, sent down to'gallant masts and yards, stun'- 
sail-booms, and to burn all useless old spars about decks. 
This was done at once, with the desired effect of soon 
Tendering her fairly stiff. 

We reached the Cape of Good Hope in a little short of 
two months, but here we encountered a succession of strong 
'westerly gales, which compelled us to lay to under bare 
poles for nearly a month, slowly drifting around in the 
current which set westerly. This lasted until we fell in 
with the sou'east trade-winds, which were blowing very 
strong, and we headed for the famed Island of St. Helena, 
where we rounded to off Jamestown in forty-one days from 
the Cape, and come to an anchor, short of almost every- 
thing. The French squadron, charged with the duty of 
conveying the mortal remains of the Emperor Napoleon I 
(the Litile Corporal) to France, was on the point of setting 
sail for France, and I had the satisfaction of viewing his 



IQO ST. HELENA. 

embalmed features as they lay in state on the jetty under 
an awning. 

One night, during our passage from the Cape, the good 
ship had a very narrow escape from going down stern first, 
or at any rate being dismasted. We were running before 
the wind under all the canvas we could spread, when the 
seizings of the tiller ropes having given way, they rendered 
round the barrel of the wheel, thus losing entire control 
over her steerage, which caused the ship to swing head to 
wind, and the yards being square, it was a sheer miracle 
that she did not founder, or else have everything brought 
by the board. However, by judicious and prompt seaman- 
ship and handling, hoisting the jibs and canting the head- 
yards in season, she was again got before the wind. 

The captain shows his skill as a seaman and training as a 
manager of unruly and high-tempered men and officers, 
when in such a case the tempest howls and the crew mur- 
murs in vain — the well handled ship outriding the danger, 
and the crew obeying orders promptly, securing the safety 
of all. Another incident of this part of our voyage from 
the Cape to St. Helena, is now fresh in mind. We were 
all engaged in sending aloft to'gallant mast and yards, when 
one evening it jammed in the trestle-trees or cap, or both, 
which gave rise to high words between the mate and the 
men, who were aloft receiving and rigging the mast, and on 
the completion of the job the quarrel was renewed on deck. 
At night the men seized the mate, who was a Frenchman, 
but a very smart seaman, and were about to throw, or 
rather heave, him overboard, when the captain, hearing the 
tumult, came forward and appeased the men. The mate 
loudly insisted that the men should be put in irons, but the 
captain would not consent, saying that he could get along 
without that kind of work, and so the matter ended. 

We remained only two days at St. Helena, during which 
we received our supply of water, of which we had run quite 



Tomb of napoleOn. 191 

out, laid in a fresh stock of vegetables, etc. But before 
leaving, the entire crew paid a visit to what was the 
tomb of the " Great Napoleon," who ended his chequered 
life of grandeur and ambition in this sea-girt prison. 

On the passage between the " Cape" and " St. Helena" 
a curious circumstance occurred to my ship and bunk- 
mate, Arthur Hider (call it spiritualism or what you will). I 
had gone below on my watch on deck, to light my pipe after 
steering my trick, and was in the act of applying the light, 
when Arthur (who was in the other watch, and consequently 
had turned in) gave a sudden start, with an alarmed and 
eager expression. I exclaimed, "What the devil's the 
matter ? " He answered, " George, I have just this moment 
seen as plainly as I now see you standing before me, the ap- 
parition of my dear mother, bearing the appearance and 
habiliments of the dead." I thought him crazy or gone wrong. 
But years after, when I met him after a considerable separa- 
tion, he told me that on his arrival in New York he learned 
of the death of his mother, and on comparing the date and 
time of her death with his memorandum of the above occur- 
rence, which he had made in his log-book at the time, that 
allowing for longitude, etc., it had taken place exactly at 
the time he had been visited by, as he concluded in his 
mind, his " mother's spirit." I had often heard of such 
experiences, as told by shipmates, but paid no attention to 
them, considering them idle tales or dreams, but this was 
right before my eyes, and Arthur was a truthful man, and 
really believed that he saw the apparation, and the event 
seemed to prove it. Whatever it may have been, there 
seems little room for doubt of the fact. Who can account 
for it ? 

At St. Helena we took in fresh water, provisions of all 
sorts that were to be had, and none too soon, for many of 
the crew were suffering from a too generous diet of salt- 
horse, and not a few had rattling teeth in answer to the 



192 



FUN ABOARD. 



demands of the sailor's old-time enemy the scurvy. Among 
other supplies, there were a number of shoats which afforded 
an immense amount of roaring fun to the sailors. When- 
ever the cook called for one the sailors in the watch were 
very officious in getting one or more out of the long-boat, 
and, of course, one always managed to slip through the 
fingers of the fun-loving young Jack tars, and then the fun 




PIG LOOSE ON DECK. 



began. All over the deck, from stem to stern, the lively 
animal was raced with ever so much effort at catching, but 
very little intention of stopping the spree too soon. 

We received our orders to proceed to Genoa, in Italy, 
and accordingly weighed and set sail for that port, distant 
by rough reckoning about 6,000 miles. We carried the 



GIBRALTAR. I93 

sou'east trades with us as far as 6° north latitude, when, as is 
generally the case between the sou'east and nor'east trades, 
we got into a series of light baffling winds and heavy rains, 
with terrific thunder and lightning, interspersed with torrid 
heat, till we struck the nor'east trades, which we did after 
our patience was nearly, but not quite, exhausted 

Strange to say, on this occasion, when we got into the 
nor'east trades, we were astonished to find the air full of 
very fine sand, which fell on the rigging and decks. In these 
latitudes we also saw shoals of flying-fish, which present an 
ever varying picture, as they seemed to skim from crest to 
crest of the waves. I may mention that they are very 
palatable food, as well as very convenient and welcome, 
when picked up on board and cooked fresh. 

After leaving St. Helena, we passed close to the Island 
of Ascension, and on the sixtieth day from the former 
entered the Straits of Gibraltar, and passing cl* se to the 
rock and town of that name entered the Mediterranean. 

The Rock of Gibraltar, as every one knows, is a vast 
fortress in the possession of, and garrisoned by Great 
Britain. It stands like a huge sentinel guarding the 
entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, and as the current sets 
outward no vessels hostile to that power could well enter 
without exposing themselves for a lengthened period to the 
guns of that fortress, which is considered impregnable. 
Steam has to a certain extent now modified these condi- 
tions. It has been frequently the scene of sanguinary con- 
tests between the various nations that have contended for 
its possession, more particularly Spanish, French and Eng- 
lish; and with Malta, and now, within the last few years, the 
Island of Cyprus, forms a link of strongholds, provisioning 
and military store depots, necessary for England to maintain 
as long as she remains a first rate power, which some wise 
heads predict will not be long. But let us hope they are 
mistaken. 



MARSEILLES 195 

In twelve days from entering the Mediterranean we came 
in sight of the port and town of Genoa, which we soon 
entered, and, rounding to inside the mole, dropped anchor, 
after a passage of seven months- 
Having made our stern fast to an immense iron ring in 
the mole, and hove taut in our cable, we were thus moored 
head and stern. Then, as is always the case when ships 
arrive from a long voyage, and Jack is supposed either to 
have plenty of money in his pocket, or to have a sum more 
or less due him, whether in Christian or heathen countries, 
we were immediately waited upon by attentive visitors of 
all kinds, who come off in boats to pay their respects to his 
pocket — bum boats, tailor's pimps, and others of still more 
questionable repute, who importuned us to go ashore with 
them, and see the delights and beauties of Genoa, "the 
superb," whatever that may mean, and what could be had 
for money. 

Having sprung our foremast off the Cape of Good Hope, 
we had to step a new one, but as one-half of the crew were 
dissipating ashore, and revelling as sailors generally do or 
did, and many who ought to know better, in the precarious 
pleasures of " women and wine," we had only half a crew 
at work, and so it took two weeks to get the new mast in 
and rigging set up. 

At length we got orders to lift hatches and discharge 
cargo, which was stowed in bulk. On the top of the 
pepper a thick blue crust had formed as hard as if it had 
been frozen. It had to be broken through with spade and 
pick ax. 

After the discharge of the cargo had been completed, I 
and three others formed the idea of going to Marseilles, in 
France, one of the most important sea-ports in the world. 
The captain reluctantly consented to give us our discharge, 
as he wished us to continue in the ship, which was going 
to Messina, Sicily, for fruit for New York, but I wanted to 



196 MARSEILLES. 

see " La Belle France," and the others coincided with me. 
They put themselves under my guidance, and after receiv- 
ing a little over one hundred and fifty dollars apiece, we 
determined to see a little life on shore, and rest for a while 
from our labors. 

After about ten days' jollification in Genoa, and, seeing 
the sights of that city (among others the site on which the 
house in which Columbus was said to have been born, but 
which we learned has been replaced many years ago by a 
more modern edifice), after reducing our purses by fifty 
dollars each, hardly earned but easily spent, we procured 
passports through the American consul, and took passage 
by steamer to Marseilles. 

Here was a novel position for a sailor who had never 
before been aboard a sea-steamer, and then to be a pas- 
senger! Most assuredly every part and thing was critically 
surveyed by each one of us, and the remarks passed would 
no doubt have amused my readers of the present day, or 
any of the engineers of the same time. 

The harbor of Marseilles is quite artificial, being dug out 
from the land, and docked, the ships laying head in and 
packed like herrings. 

On landing we took up quarters at a boarding-house, 
kept by a French woman (or lady, modernized), who was 
called English Mary, for what reason I know not. She 
averaged at least the year through five hundred boarders 
at a time. The business had been handed down from her 
ancestors for many generations, and she was reported ex- 
tremely wealthy, and was unquestionably smart. 

Well! The memories of the past, how sweet sometimes! 
May they, the sweet ones, I mean, last forever! or, as the 
Turks say, a thousand and one years, while the sad ones 
may go to Jericho, or any other hot or cold place out of 
the way. Well, this smart " English Mary " had a pretty 
daughter named Julie, and she, bless her little heart, took 



198 JULIE. 

a fancy to your humble servant, to which I certainly had 
not the slightest objection. I attributed her liking for me 
to the knowledge which she attained that I was somewhat 
of a linguist and an arithmetician — qualities in those days 
not frequently possessed by those in my sphere. However 
that may be, we had a good time of it, till the time came 
to say, " Good bye ! sweetheart, good bye !" No doubt my 
chums had equal luck in some other quarter, for — 

" What lass but loves the sailor boy — 
We o'er the ocean roam, sirs; 
In every clime we find a port. 
In every pert a home, sirs. 

One day, as we were cruising among the quays and ship- 
ping, we chanced on a fine large French brig called the 
Aigle, Captain Avril, for St. Thomas, West Indies, and 
Guyama, Porto Rico, with an assorted cargo for a wealthy 
French planter. She had commenced loading, and, as we 
were willing to ship in her, the captain took us to the 
government office for the purpose of signing articles. 
The wages were to be fifty francs a month. My three 
shipmates signed first, and when I signed, the captain 
noticing that I hailed from Montreal, Canada, asked me 
whether I could speak French. On my answering in the 
affirmative, he at once said to the official, " Put down ten 
francs more, which I will pay out of my own pocket," and 
from that time I had to act as spokesman or interpreter for 
our entire party. 

The following day we went to work setting up rigging 
and bending sails, and while still on this job I remember 
well, as I had soon good cause to, returning to the ship 
after dinner half seas over, having imbibed more than my 
share of a large bottle of wine containing about three pints, 
called in France " un litre " (because it makes your head 
lighter, I suppose), which was always placed at dinner 
between every two persons, and, in a spirit of foolhardiness 
and bravado, I jumped overboard from the brig's stern, and 



INTERPRETER. 199 

was rescued from my perilous position by one of our num- 
ber, Arthur Hider, plunging in after me, and swimming 
with me to a place of safety. I returned to work as soon 
as I got some dry clothing on. 

As my knowledge of French had gained me promotion 
and extra pay, so it also nearly caused me some trouble by 
arousing the suspicions of a gensdarme, who, hearing me 
speaking French and seeing me in the garb of a sailor, 
thought I might be a deserter from the French naval service, 
and was only assured such was not the case, but that I was 
a native of America, by the persuasion of the boatswain of 
the Aigle, in whose company I was enjoying myself at a 
"cabaret." 

After a short time we were ready for sea. and having 
hauled out of the harbor basin and made sail we stood out 
to sea, immediately encountering very heavy weather. 

Scarcely had we been to sea forty-eight hours when I be- 
came very sick, my body having the appearance of being 
attacked with both smallpox and measles at the same time. 
This was caused by my sudden immersion while heated and 
sweating in the water strongly impregnated with copper from 
the bottoms of so many vessels, when I jumped overboard 
at Marseilles. 

And here I would draw attention to another virtue or 
qualification requisite and most often faithfully and even 
affectionately carried out by the real seaman (one of the 
good old sort), and that is in the quality of nurse and physi- 
cian, not separately, but together. In my case on board the 
Aigle Captain Avril had me removed from my bunk in the 
fo'castle and placed in his berth, and at once became my 
physician and nurse till I had recovered. 

Sailors, when sick, often become romantic and fanciful, at 
other times they have too much to do to think of such 
things; and I, as I lay thinking that I was about to "kick 
the bucket," upbraided myself with having invoked the just 



GIBRALTAR. 201 

vengeance of "Cupid" (the God of Love), in having neg- 
lected his admonitions when he brought me alongside my 
pretty Julie, and taken her to have and to hold " for better 
or for worse." The morning when we had our last breakfast 
together she hung on to my neck and sobbed as if her little 
heart would have broken. I had no thought of marrying 
then, otherwise I might have had a good, snug berth for life. I 
dare say she afterwards married some staid citizen of credit 
if not of renown. 

As we neared the Straits of Gibraltar and the broad At- 
lantic I rapidly improved in health, until I became conva- 
lescent, and took my trick at the wheel, and able to stand 
my watch, but not yet strong enough to go aloft. 

Out in the Atlantic we shaped our course between the 
Moorish coast and the Madeira Islands, through to the 
west'ard of the Canary Islands, where we had almost inces- 
sant rain, with continued thunder and lightning, until we 
got to the south 'ard and west'ard of the Cape de Verdes, 
where we ran into the nor'east trade winds, squared yards, 
set all light canvas and stun 'sails that would draw, and went 
booming before a strong breeze until we neared the West 
Indies, sighting the Isle of Desiderada, and in another week 
cast anchor in the harbor of St. Thomas, after a passage of 
sixty-two days. 

The day following our arrival was a Sunday, and the 
boatswain came for'ard after we had washed decks and had 
breakfast, and summoned us to work (customary on French 
ships), but we Americans refused to turn to, but went aft 
and told the captain that it was not customary to work on 
Sundays in American ships while in harbor, but he, turning 
and pointing to the French flag floating from the main peak, 
told us that we had shipped and signed under that flag and 
no other, and that on the morrow he would imprison us in the 
Danish fort until the brig was ready to sail. The remainder 
of the crew, consisting of ten Frenchmen, went to work. 



202 BILL WATERS. 

During the passage out, and just after getting the trade 
winds, no look-out for'ard being considered necessary, we had 
an opportunity of providing ourselves with luxuries which 
had not been included in the agreement when we signed 
in France, and of which I am ashamed to say, I, as well as 
my three comrades, availed ourselves liberally. But what 
won't Jack do for good tack when at sea ? Well, the fore- 
hatch had an opening, a scuttle, down in which the brig's 
stores were kept, and just abaft of this was the cargo consist- 
ing of the most delicious wines, brandies, sardines and other 
delicacies that France could supply. Every night down this 
opening Bill Waters, one of our number, would go and bring 
up a case of wine, brandy, or sardines, and, breaking open 
the case, heave it overboard and stow the contents in our 
chests, which would last till the following night. 

One day while I was on the quarter-deck doing some 
fancy work, this Waters appeared on deck drunk and calling 
out " George, come and have a drink," was watched by the 
chief mate, who saw him go down the scuttle and bring up 
a case. The mate thereupon told me that he would not re- 
port him to the captain if the game was stopped at once. 
It was stopped for that day, but at night the cargo was again 
broached. 

As before stated Captain Avril having threatened to lodge 
us in the Danish fort till the sailing of the Aigle, and we 
dreading lest he might carry his threat into execution, and 
perhaps eventually carry us back to France to serve a period 
in the galleys, as was then the French law with regard to dis- 
obedience of orders at sea, or in a foreign port, held a counsel 
of war, in which it was resolved to leave the brig peacefully if 
we could, forcibly if we must. In pursuance of effecting our 
escape by the first method it was considered expedient for 
one of us to see the American Consul, which I undertook to 
do; so I went below, dressed myself neatly, got into the bob- 
stays, and watched a negro youth pulling around us till I drew 



THE BO SON. 203 

his attention, when I held up a five franc piece, the meaning 
of which action on my part he readily understood, for he 
came and took me off, covered me with a sail, and pulled 
for the shore. I at once walked up to the American Con- 
sulate, but on inquiry was informed that the consul had gone 
the day before to St. Croix, a Danish island some forty miles 
distant. After loitering ashore till dusk I returned on board 
and was astounded to learn that all our chests and per- 
sonal effects had been taken aft to the after store-room and 
locked up. 

We had now no alternative but to use desperate measures, 
and soon made up our minds what course to pursue, and to 
carry it into effect that night. 

The boatswain slept in a hammock on deck, with a loaded 
musket by his side, and there was a Frenchman as anchor- 
watch to be disposed of. After all were sound asleep except 
the man on watch, we sallied forth from the fo'castle, 
knocked down the watch into unconsciousness with a heaver, 
while simultaneously two tackled the boatswain, gagged and 
lashed him securely in his hammock, and the task of secur- 
ing the companion-way was but the work of a few mo- 
ments. 

The officers being thus paralyzed by the suddenness of the 
attack, and taken perfectly by surprise, the rest of our plan 
was easily carried out, for we quickly hauled up the long- 
boat which was towing astern, with her lug-sail always in her, 
broke the fastenings that held our property, bundled chests 
and all into the boat, cast off and bid adieu to the Aigle, 
hoisted our sail, and with a fresh land breeze soon saw St. 
Thomas fading from view in the early morning. About ten 
in the forenoon we landed at St. Johns, the town and harbor 
of St. Croix, West Indies, where several brigs and schooners 
lay bound to different parts of the United States or the 
Spanish main. 

While in the Island of St. Thomas, I was shown the 



204 BLUE BEARD. 

castle, now in ruins, where the " Blue Beard " of our child- 
hood story-books is said to have killed so many wives, and 
to have met the just punishment due such an atrocious 
ruffian. The fact that the same Mr. Blue Beard has a 
castle assigned to him in many other countries is no draw- 
back to the one in St. Thomas. 

After landing at St. John's we parted company, all obtain- 
ing berths in different vessels. I shipped in the hermaph- 
rodite brig, Daniel Webster, bound to Charleston, S. C, and 
^.fter a fine passage, considering the time of the year, March, 
arrived at the destined port in six days. 




Mi • "'M. 




IJI 1 " ' ' ' " 



3PHsi 



M 



, r~ -■; 




Chapter VIII. 



" Oh, who can tell, save he whose heart hath tried, 
And' danced in triumph o'er the waters wide, 
The exulting- sense — the pulse's maddening play, 
That thrills the wanderer of that trackless way." 

I lost no time in getting a ship at Charleston, for, as I 
was taking my dunnage ashore from the Daniel Webster, 
a gentlemanly-looking man, pointing to a ship lying at 
anchor in the harbor, asked me if I did not wish to ship for 
Europe ? The ship to which he drew my attention was 
bound for Hamburg, and wanted a few good men to com- 
plete her crew. He said, if I was willing to go, I would 
just suit. I agreed. "Then," said he, "come up to the 
house and get something to eat, and I will take you on 
board, and ship you." This man was, as I was told, Elias 
Moses, father of Franklin Moses, afterwards Governor of 
South Carolina. I found that I had engaged on board the 
ship Inez, of Newburyport, Captain Cook, a fine fellow, 
with a crew of ten excellent seamen before the mast. 

We were not long in getting ready for sea„ Starting on 
our voyage, we had hardly cleared the coast, when it came 
on to blow most terribly, alternating from nor'west to 
sou'west, and compelling us to scud under close-reefed 
main topsail and reefed foresail. We were loaded with a 
very buoyant cargo of rice and small cotton bales, and had 
the good ship Inez not been a capital steerer (we could 
handle her like a pilot boat) she could never have gone 
through such an ordeal and kept afloat. She was a small 
ship of 351 tons measurement, but staunch to the backbone 
(which means the keel). The captain sent the same food 
to the fo'castle that was served in the cabin, which was 
never known to occur on any other vessel that I ever heard 
of. His treatment of the crew was very kind and con- 
siderate, and won all hearts. 



208 



HAMBURG. 



We had a very quick passage, making the "Chops" of 
the English Channel in twelve days, and were off Cuxhaven, 
at the mouth of the Elbe, on the sixteenth day, but it took 
us three days to work up to Hamburg, having to beat up 
(the wind being contrary, and blowing right down the river), 
which we could only do with a flood tide. 

Arrived at Hamburg, we moored to the Dolphins (float- 
ing docks, like our New York ferry docks), about one 
hundred yards from the shore, and commenced discharging 
our cargo into lighters. 




CANAL AT HAMBURG. 



Every night the crew went ashore to enjoy themselves, 
for which there are numberless opportunities in Hamburg, 
or in that quarter of it set apart for the sailor community, 
and which was outside the walls and gates. In this quarter, 
beer houses and saloons, dance halls, etc., abounded, all of 
which had a complement of handsome and gay young 
damsels, whose duty or calling it was to contribute to the 
pleasures of their visitors as partners in the mazy waltz, 
that being the favorite dance, and by waiting on them at 



DANCE HOUSE. 



209 



the tables, and elsewhere, thus relieving them of the burden 
of carrying superfluous cash. We also enjoyed the popular, 
though to some it would appear childish, amusement of the 
flying horses, or roundabouts. But to Jack ashore any- 
thing to laugh at is fun, and every one knows that a sailor 
on horseback, whether in the flesh or in wood, is a sight to 
cause laughter in any one, whether of his own calling or a 
landsman. 

An incident occurred to me then which I never recall 




CANAL AT HAMBURG. 



without cursing the despotic laws of the Hanse towns of 
Germany, which are, or appear to be, brought to bear with 
particular severity against seamen of other nationalities than 
their own, especially if they are suspected of belonging to the 
Latin races. It was a lovely moonlight night, and I was 
ashore as usual on the Berg, as this part was called, enjoy- 
ing myself with a shipmate, and, feeling as happy as a king, 
or perhaps a good deal happier, when, all at once, I missed 
him from my side. We were in a dance-house in company 
with some damsels, and, not being able to see him any- 



2IO IN THE LOCK-UP. 

where, I rushed out of the door, and blew an ivory call in 
the shape of a hound, which had been given to me on 
board of the slaver, mentioned in a previous chapter. I 
had no sooner done so, when, as if an apparation had risen 
out of the earth, two gendarmes, with naked sabres glisten- 
ing in the moonlight, stood, one on each side of me, arrested 
and marched me off to a police station, where I was charged 
with giving a false alarm. The officer at the desk, to 
whom the charge was made, asked me with what I ha 1 
whistled. I told him with a call used on a slaver, and the 




CANAL AT HAMBURG. 



reason for my doing so was calling for a shipmate in whose 
company I was, and whom I had missed, that being the 
signal agreed upon should one wish to communicate .with 
the other. He told me that those whistles were used by 
the local police, and the use of such by any other person 
was a violation of law, and ordered me to surrender it, 
which I refused to do. He then directed the gendarmes to 
take it from me by force, but he had reckoned without his 
host, for no sooner did they attempt to carry out the order 
than I knocked them both down, being very quick, and 



IN THE LOCK-UP. 211 

with muscles well tempered by "Father Neptune." But 
my pugilistic powers availed me nothing, for, summoning a 
crowd of gendarmes who were asleep at the other end of 
the station house, I was overcome by numbers, and locked 
up in a cell about six fe t by four, on the floor of which, 
composed of flag-stones, I eventually fell asleep, and slept 
the sleep of the tired (if not of the just) till 6 a. m., when I 
was taken to the court-house, or senate, as they called it, 
and being placed in the janitor's apartments, I was told that, 
if I had six shillings on me (small pieces of money forty- 
eight to the dollar), I could have a bowl of coffee and a 
roll. Having the needful, I embraced the opportunity, and, 
after my night's lodgings on the cold ground, I can assure 
my readers it was very welcome. 

The court opened at 9 a. m., and I was marched up into 
the presence of the judge, before whom I was arraigned. 
He began by tilling me I was a Spaniard (a nation much 
disliked by Northern Germans), as I looked so swarthy. I 
told him I was not a Spaniard but a Canadian, but as he 
persisted, I told him in forcible English that he was a liar. 
I was then convicted, and fined five marks (fourteen shil- 
lings), a sum about equal to two and a half dollars. I was 
then asked where my captain was to be found, and on my 
replying at the Baum house, the two police accompanied me 
there, and saw the cap f ain, who laughed and paid the fine, 
and gave me the rest of the day to recuperate my fallen 
spirits. I may mention that, on being paid off at the end of 
the voyage, this captain did not deduct the fine he had paid 
for me. 

This was my first acquaintance with Germany, and it was 
not a cordial welcome. However, I managed to make a 
friend of a keeper of a small hotel near the ship, on one of 
the small islands, of which there are many in Hamburg. 
In looking about the city I saw the new Exchange, which 
had just been completed. There were nearly five thousand 



212 SINGING GERMANS. 

members, and I had the pleasure of overlooking them during 
a part of their business hours from the gallery, and listening 
to the roar of voices. My friend said they were buying and 
selling stocks, bonds and other securities, but to me it seemed 
all confusion, and but little less than a riot. The most severe 
task for me was climbing the tower of Saint Michael's 
church, which is four hundred and sixty feet high, and is 
ascended by six hundred steps. The river divides into 
many small streams, and they are full of boats, barges, and 
all sorts of ships from every nation, for Hamburg is one of 
the largest shipping ports in the world. I saw women 
hauling at the ropes of the canal boats, while their husbands 
sat smoking in the boat. Everyone smokes, and generally 
a pipe. The women are very much addicted to the habit of 
scrubbing doors, windows, floors, and everywhere you go 
they are out in force. 

After discharging cargo the ship was cleaned, tarred 
down, painted, and put to rights all over, in readiness for 
six hundred emigrants and also a cargo. The men who put 
the cargo on board sang at their work, day and night, and 
in my ears those songs were very pleasant, waking echoes 
and memories that sent me far away to the shores of the 
St. Lawrence. Everybody sings in Germany, and music 
seems to be a very essential part of the nation's existence, 
I suppose it would not be out of the way for me to say that 
the Germans also indulge in beer. In fact, beer and song, 
and pipe and story-telling are important elements of the life 
of the good people of Faderland. 

It was nearly two months before we got all our passengers 
aboard, bunks up, sails bent, water filled, and provisioned, 
and being all ready we dropped down the Elbe with a fair 
wind and bid adieu to Germany. 

The passage to New York was made without anything of 
note happening in sixty days, during which we had nothing 
but light and baffling winds, and, after landing our six 



COENTIES SLIP 213 

hundred emigrants, Captain Cook told the crew that if any 
of them wished to remain by the ship they could do so. 

I and three others remained until the cargo was dis- 
charged, and the ship cleaned and put in good order, and 
then, hearing that as much as $100 was being paid for the 
run from Quebec to England, we concluded to steer for that 
port and try our luck. 

Being informed that the bark Ceres, of Sligo, Ireland, was 
loading with staves for Quebec at the stave yard in the 
East river, we shipped in her for the passage, but we had 
not been aboard more than two or three days when one of 
my comrades, who were Irishmen, had an altercation with 
the mate, an Englishman. The Irishman, being a big, pow- 
erful fellow, just caught the mate up and hove him over- 
board. We fished him out, and while he was in the cabin 
changing his clothing, we hastily bundled our bags and ham- 
mocks into a boat lying alongside, and pulled down to Coen- 
ties slip, and got on board a barge belonging to a tow 
just starting out for Albany, where we arrived in two days 
and nights, and got a free passage to Whitehall in freight 
canal boat on the Champlain Canal. 

Arriving at the latter place in a day and night, we endeav- 
ored to procure a free passage to St. Johns, at the northern 
extremity of Lake Champlain (and in Canada), but were 
unsuccessful. 

After spending several days in Whitehall devising schemes 
by which we might proceed to St. Johns, we finally resolved 
to take the first boat that suited our purpose, and were not 
long in making a selection. We secured a small boat with 
a sail, mast, and four oars in her, but no rudder, which omis- 
sion we supplied with an oar. During the day we laid in a 
stack of cheese and " soft tack," and some whisky, and 
when all in the town were in the arms of " Morpheus" we 
started down the Lake, beaching the boat at night in some 



214 LAPRAIRIE. 

lonely cove hidden from passing vessels, and turning her 
bottom up converted her into a lodging-house. 

Not being in a hurry it just took us five days to reach St. 
Johns, where we had the fortune to meet with a good- 
natured Scotch farmer, who was going to Laprairie, oppo- 
site Montreal, and his team returning light, he kindly con- 
sented to take us free. We reached the River St. Lawrence 
in the afternoon, and Montreal the same evening, where we 
spent the night on board the steam ferry-boat, the captain 
giving us permission to do so, having completed his last trip 
for that day. 

The next day we obtained a free passage in the steamer 
John Bull, getting our grub the same as the deck hands, in 
return for doing some splicing and other odd jobs of sailor- 
ising. 

The afternoon following our embarkation in the John 
Bull we arrived in Quebec, and, taking up our quarters in 
a sailor's boarding-house in Champlain street, under Cape 
Diamond, we remained just two weeks, enjoying ourselves 
by visiting the fortifications and all places of interest, vary- 
ing the performance by drinking Jamaica rum, which could 
then be had in its purity, and was considered a very whole- 
some stimulant; at least, it did not disagree with us, perhaps 
because we did not get overloaded. 



Chapter IX. 



" Roll thou deep and dark blue ocean — roll ! 

Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain ; 
Man marks the earth with ruin — his control 

Stops with the shore ; upon the watery plain 
The wrecks are all thy deed, nor doth remain 

A shadow of man's ravage, save his own, 
When for a moment, like a drop of rain, 

He sinks into thy depths with bubbling groan, 
Without a grave, unknell'd, uncoffined and unknown." 

Having had my rollick ashore as detailed at the close of 
the last chapter, I again became a wanderer on the face of 
the deep, and shipped this time in the bark Ganges, Captain 
Bligh, of Port Glasgow, Scotland, bound for Liverpool with 
a cargo of square timber. She was a clumsy-rigged, ugly 
steering vessel, and the captain was as bad or worse, for the 
ship was only as she was made, whereas he made himself a 
driveling drunkard, not being once sober all the way to 
Liverpool. Had it not been for the mate, who was a Scotch- 
man, a veritable giant in stature, named Scotland, of great 
physical strength, and who devoted himself untiringly to his 
duties, being an excellent seaman, we should have undoubt- 
edly been all lost. 

Just after sailing, the captain being maudlin drunk on 
the poop, one of the seamen, by name Mulhally, a big mus- 
cular Irishman, seized the captain, and holding him over the 
rail, said : 

" By Jasus! for two pins I would just dhrop ye overboard 
ye drunken ould sot, and let a bucketful of salt wather into 
ye to dhrain out the sperrits." 

Well, to return. We weighed, made sail, and with a pilot 
on board proceeded down the St. Lawrence. It was then 
the middle of November, and excessively cold. Ice was 
forming and the winds very boisterous. We got as far as the 



2l6 TUSKAR LIGHT. 

sou'west extremity of the Island of Anticosta when the wind 
came out from the nor'west a regular screecher, so that we 
were compelled to reduce our canvas until we were under 
close-reefed foresail and foretop-mast stay-sail. I suffered 
severely from the cold, being without any flannel or warm 
clothing of any kind, and when a sea swept the decks, or a 
spray drenched the rigging, it would freeze instantly, so that 
we who were sprinkled continually, were, so to speak, clothed 
in ice. From this state of things we had hardly any relief, 
night or day, for having no fo'castle, and consequently no 
bunks, and but a few having hammocks, our only refuge was 
below in our watch off, sleeping as best we could in spaces 
formed by the sticks of timber, being of different lengths. 

Fortunately we had fine weather after leaving the Gulf of 
St. Lawrence. 

Our captain never came on deck. But when we made the 
Irish coast and had got near " Tuskar," we were confronted 
by a heavy gale from the nor'east; our boats were swept 
away, and had it not been for the incredible exertions and 
excellent seamanship displayed by our chief officer, we should 
most assuredly have been wrecked on the Irish coast and 
within sight of the Wicklow mountains. 

However, providentially, we reached Liverpool after a 
passage of forty-eight days, and were paid off the next day, 
glad to be clear of such a ship, and from such a captain, for 
however a sailor may get drunk ashore he abhors drunken- 
ness when on duty, especially in one placed in authority, and 
to whom he has been taught to look up to and depend upon 
in time of danger. 

After two days in Liverpool I learned that an American 
ship had put into Waterford in distress, and wanted a crew. 
She was the Galen, of Bucksport, Maine, from Swansea, 
Wales, with a cargo of railroad iron for New York. She 
had got to the west'ard as far as the " Old Head of Kinsale," 
when she sprung a leak and attempted to put into Cork, but 



WATERFORD. 2, 

missed, and got into the Tower Hook up to Waterford, 
where she discharged cargo, hove down, unsheathed, re- 
caulked, and recoppered. 

When I heard of this ship, I communicated my desire 
to go to Waterford to my shipmate Mulhally, from the 
"Ganges," and he, being a native of Waterford, immediately 
said, "All right; if you go, Davis, I will accompany you, for, 
as my parents live in Waterford, I can at any rate assure 
you of a roof, and we won't want for grub." So we took 
passage in a small black-looking steamer called the Gipsy 
Queen for Waterfoid, paying seven shillings and sixpence 
(one dollar eighty cents) each for the passage, and, after a 
rough winter night's run to the " Salties " across St. George's 
Channel, made the Tower Hook and Duncannon Fort next 
forenoon. I remember the pleasant run we had up the 
river to Waterford, and the delightful sensation of looking 
at the bright green grass on the hills, although it was 
December. After a few days' vacation, we shipped on 
board the Galen. 

When we went on board she was again receiving her 
cargo. After three weeks spent in that work she was ready 
for sea. We embarked over five hundred passengers, were 
towed down the river, outside the Tower Hook to the Irish 
Sea, and made sail for New York. 

Mulhally, who, with the rest of the crew, excepting my- 
self, had received two months' advance wages, had deserted 
before we sailed. 

It was now blowing half a gale from the sou'east, and we 
were under doubled-reefed topsails, whole courses, jib and 
spanker, going two points free, or abeam. As we cleared 
the Irish coast, and entered the Atlantic, the gale increased, 
veering to the south and sou'west. The ship was rolling 
fearfully under close-reefed topsails, and reefed foresail, and 
foretopmast-staysail, close hauled in the wind, and barely 
laying our course. 



THE VESPASIAN. 



We soon began to realize that we were leaking badly, and, 
still more horrible discovery, we found that, through bad 
stowage, the railroad iron had got loose, and some having 
got athwart had drilled holes in the ship's sides, which let 
in quantities of water at every lurch, while, at the same 
time, the loose iron was still boring other holes. 

We had no other resource than to work incessantly at the 
pumps. The bowsprit had worked loose at the knight- 
heads, the gammoning getting loose, and at every pitch the 
water poured down into the fo'castle, the bitts having also 
worked loose. Thus we passed three weary and harassing 
weeks, continually at the pumps. Being then in the longi- 
tude of the Azores we wore ship, the wind still blowing a 
living gale from the west nor'west, and concluded to work 
to the south'ard, and make a southern passage, but at last 
realized that we were too far gone to last much longer, the 
leak having gained on us so considerably, and still gaining 
daily, we determined to take the first opportunity of the 
wind in any degree abating to abandon the ship, and take 
to the boats. 

The five hundred passengers were in the meantime almost 
completely paralyzed with fear. Some of the men gave an 
occasional spell at the pumps, but we, of the crew, were so 
worked out that I had scarcely time to know (so to speak) 
that they were even aboard. 

Fortunately, after we had stood to the south'ard on the 
starboard tack for about a week, we spoke the ship Vespasian, 
of Boston, bound from Batavia, Java, to Cowes, Isle of 
Wight, for orders, and whose captain agreed to lay by us 
until we should leave the ship, which we found had now 
eleven feet water in the hold. We turned to at once, and 
got our boats out, and began transferring our passengers to 
the Vespasian. The entire crew being thus employed, we 
had conveyed some four hundred of them to the other ship, 
and were returning for the remainder, when the Galen 



THE GALEN SINKS. 2J9 

suddenly pitched by the bow, and went down, taking with 
her nearly one hundred human beings, including one of 
our crew who had been detailed to superintend their de- 
barkation. 

" Then rose from sea to sky the wild farewell — 

Then shrieked the timid, and stood still the brave — 
Then some leap'd overboard with dreadful yell, 

As eager to anticipate their grave ; 
And the sea yawn'd around her like a hell, 

And down she suck'd with her the whirling wave, 
Like one who grapples with his enemy, 

And strives to strangle him before he die. 

" And first one universal shriek there rushed, 

Louder than the loud ocean, like a crash 
Of echoing thunder ; and then all was hushed, 

Save the wild wind and the remorseless dash 
Of billows ; but at intervals there gushM, 

Accompanied with a convulsive splash, 
A solitary shriek, the bubbling cry, 

Of some strong swimmer in his agony." 

Never shall I forget that awful scene, when 

" Rose from sea to sky the wild farewell," 

not only from those thus hurled into the raging sea to find 
a watery grave, but also from the relatives and friends on 
board the Vespasian. It was a sight to appall the stoutest 
heart, and one the memory of which will endure as long as 
I have the power of remembrance. 

When all was over, the Vespasian filled away and shaped 
a course for the Island of Fayal, one of the Azores, or 
Western Islands, a group of nine islands under the dominion 
of Portugal, distant one thousand miles from Lisbon, being 
the nearest point in Europe in the same parallel of latitude. 

We arrived in the harbor of Fayal the following day, 
about one hundred and fifty miles from the spot where the 
Galen foundered. The crew and passengers were landed. 
Their necessities were seen to by the American consul, 
Mr. Dabney, who attended to both crew and passengers 
being housed and fed, except the captain and mates, who 
remained on board the Vespasian until she reached Cowes. 

When we were at Fayal we saw U. S. Consul Dabney, 
father-in-law of Dr. Webster, who killed Dr. Parkman at 



220 IN THE AZORES. 

Boston. His grandson is consul now. It was there that 
the captain asked me to swear to a protest for insurance to 
be laid before the U. S. Consul, but I could not do so, 
because I had seen Captain Snow with a large augur in his 
hand coming out of the lower hold, and knew what happened 
afterwards must have been results of his boring. I also 
could see the big bulges in the ship's sides and bows made 
by the shifting ranroad iron, which was loose, and at every 
lurch of the vessel plunged into the sides or bows, which of 
course could not last long. That was the Galen, of Bucks- 
port, Maine. 

While on the island waiting for a ship I boarded with a 
Portuguese family, who lived close to the edge of an ex- 
tinct volcano, and paid three dollars a month for board and 
washing. The husband's name was Antonio De Silva, and 
more inoffensive, industrious, kind-hearted people do not 
exist. They did as much for me as for a son or brother. 
Their customs were primitive, and one reminded me of the 
Scriptures where we read of grinding corn or grain between 
two stones, and that was the method used in the Azores. 
Their tools were very few, and such as boys make. I was 
told that the land belonged to a few, could not be bought 
by the people, who were little better than slaves, and that, 
poorly cultivated as it is, it being naturally a rich deep 
mold from volcanic rock, the crops are abundant and sure. 
The rains are plenty, but sometimes fall in floods, doing 
great damage. 

Shortly after landing the consul summoned the crew to 
the consulate, and informed us that we were allowed as ship- 
wrecked seamen, by the United States government, a sum 
of twenty-six cents per day for subsistence, and I with 
one or two other old whalemen, being conversant with the 
Portuguese tongue, engaged board with a peasant living in 
the interior of the island, close to the edge of the crater of 
an extinct volcano, for three dollars a month, thus saving 



ANTONIO DE SILVA. 221 

over five dollars a month out of my allowance for pocket 
money, which was pretty well, considering that I could keep 
jolly drunk for ten cents a day, and that on real pure and 
good Pico wine, so called from the name of the island on 
which it was produced, and on which is a famous volcano. 
It was no doctored stuff that will make you mad, and neither 
jolly nor drunk. 

When I took up my quarters with Antonio De Silva, the 
peasant, I was covered with vermin; but these were soon 
got rid of by baking my clothes till they were all extermi- 
nated, and washing myself. De Silva also instructed me 
that for the benefit of my health I ought to wash my feet in 
warm water every night before turning in (a custom univer- 
sal in these islands), also eat an orange the first thing in the 
morning, never later. These islanders are stout and hardy, 
sickness comparatively unknown, and they live to a great 
age. No doctors; but whether this is the cause or effect of 
the general healthiness I will not pretend to say, but leave 
to the decision of my readers. I generally walked down 
barefoot to the port in the day, and passed the time as pleas- 
antly as I could, yarning with one and the other whom 
chance threw in my way. 

The manners of the people of the Azores are exceedingly 
primitive. They wear sandals on their feet, and instead of 
ploughing merely make holes in the ground with a sharp 
stick, and grind their grain between two stones, the upper 
having a hole in the middle for a hopper. A cow yoked to a 
beam turns the upper stone around. They also have oxen 
to tread out the corn or grain as mentioned in Scripture. 
They have other primitive customs which were very amusing. 

While on the island, each seaman and passenger was cau- 
tioned by some of the natives who had been in whalers, and 
thus not so bigoted as the others, to wear crucifixes fastened 
round their necks as a protection against some of the island- 
ers, who were so fanatical against all not of the Romish 



SARAH AND ABIGAIL. 223 

church that they would not hesitate to murder any one not 
having that symbol on their person. In fact, two of the 
original crew not shipped in Ireland, and not being thus 
protected, were found assassinated in the interior of the 
island, and no clew was found as to the perpetrators of the 
crime, for there are no officers of justice, and only about a 
company of soldiers for the whole group of islands, except 
at St. Michaels, where there are a few more, but all bare- 
footed, and wearing anything but a regular uniform, so warm 
is the climate. 

After we had been a few days in Fayal, two large brigs 
came to in the harbor partially laden for Boston, and all the 
passengers of the Galen as well as the crew, excepting four 
and myself, were embarked for America. Four months 
elapsed before another vessel bound for America presented 
herself. By this time I felt so much at home that I almost 
considered myself a Portuguese, and did not care to leave 
and say adieu to the good people I had become acquainted 
with, nor to leave the comfortable quarters, including the 
cakes and wine. But good times as well as bad must have 
end, and after a stay of six months on the island, I and the 
four remaining crew of the defunct Galen were directed by 
the consul to go on board the brig Sarah and Abigail, bound 
for Boston. 

The Sarah and Abigail had been on an unsuccessful whal- 
ing voyage among the islands of the North Atlantic, and came 
to Fayal to fill up with oranges and wine on her return to New 
England. We of the crew of the Galen were shipped as United 
States protected seamen, the government paying ten dollars 
apiece for us. The first night out all hands were mustered 
on deck to choose watches, and we were mustered also, but 
we told Captain Doane bluntly that we were passengers and 
would not stand watch ; upon which he said, " Very well, if 
you refuse to stand watch you shall have nothing to eat." 
Well, the threat fell harmless upon us, for the vessel being 




SENTINEL. 



FORAGING. 225 

loaded mostly with wine and oranges it seemed to us that 
with a seaman's instinct for foraging under ordinary circum- 
stances, it would only reflect discredit on our abilities if we 
allowed ourselves to starve. Accordingly, with the silent 
acquiescence of the crew for'ard, we carefully took out a 
board of the bulkhead separating the fo'castle from the hold, 
so that with the ruby wine and the fruit, to which we helped 
ourselves liberally, on the principle that '* the gods help those 
who help themselves," and what the crew gave us in the way 
of solids we "fared sumptuously every day." 

We encountered continuous westerly winds almost the 
entire passage, sou'west alternating to nor'west. Thus we 
continued hammering at it for ov.r a month, when one 
night off the eastern edge of George's Banks, with an ugly 
chopping sea, the wind blowing pretty strong from nor'west, 
and close-hauled on the starboard tack, and under whole 
topsails and courses with jib and mainsail, owing to in- 
different seamanship, or neglect, or both, in consequence of 
the topsail yards being too sharply braced in such a laborsome 
sea, the mast heads were twisted, and brought down every- 
thing above the top on deck and over the sides. We were 
in a pretty pickle. Of course, as a matter of good fellow- 
ship, in distress, we passengers, or consul's men, such as we 
are frequently called, turned to with a will to lend a hand 
in clearing away the wreck, and to rig jury masts. 

This dangerous work had scarcely been accomplished, 
when another catastrophy befell us, by which we lost a sea- 
man overboard. 

It was blowing heavy at the time, with a terrible sea on 
as we were hove to under a storm fore and aft mainsail, 
when the mate sent one of the crew, a Dane, to stop the 
head of the jib, which was furled, the gasket having worked 
loose. Suddenly a terrific sea struck the boom and carried 
it away in a moment, and as the cry " Man overboard " 
rang out, we beheld our shipmate drowning before our 



226 MAN OVERBOARD. 

eyes, without the power to do aught to save him. Never 
did I witness such an appalling spectacle, and the appealing 
look, and the despairing cry he gave as we hove to, drifting 
to leeward, while he appeared to drift to wind'ard. 

The cry " Man overboard " is always an appalling one, 
but, in the hurry and activity induced by the efforts to save, 
the feeling is to a degree mollified; but to have to stand and 
see a shipmate thus perishing, as it were, within hail, know- 
ing that it is madness or impossible to attempt his rescue, 
produces a feeling which it is not in my power to put into 
words. 

After a dreary passage of forty-five days, we had the 
supreme felicity of once more treading "America's free 
soil," and were not long availing ourselves of the chance of 
leaving the dominions of Captain Doane on board of the 
brig Sarah and Abigail. 

Not feeling at home in Boston, I resolved to make tracks 
for New York, and, learning I could go to Providence, R. I., 
by rail, and thence by steamer to New York, I resolved to 
pursue that route of travel. 

This was my first experience as a passenger on board of 
a railroad, and it may interest some of my readers to know 
that at this period, 1840, the passenger cars were open both 
on top and sides, while the seats were without cushions, 
merely boards placed across. The rate of speed was also 
not to be compared with that now attained. The new 
sensation was exhilarating, and I enjoyed that ride. 

I arrived in New York with what a sailor mortally hates 
when ashore ; in fact, I know of no landsman but what has 
an equal aversion to it, namely: empty pockets. I had but 
twenty-five cents left on my arrival, and I thought of the 
cook of the Sarah and Abigail, with no amiable feelings, 
when I recollected that he had not paid me for a pair of 



MAGNANIMITY 



227 



new Blucher shoes which I had sold him for three dollars. 
However, if I were to come across him now, I do not think 
I would sue him, for I suppose my claim would be barred 
by the " statute of limitation." There is no such statute 
to bar one's memory. That's one good thing. 







J. W. PETTIGREW. 
(See page 307.) 



Chapter X. 



" Still must I on ; for I am as a weed, 
Flung from the rock, on ocean's foam to sail 
Where'er the surge may sweep, the tempest's breath prevail." 

After idling a week or so at a sailor's boarding-house in 
James street, I shipped aboard the ship Oneida, Captain 
Funk, one of the Havre line of packet-ships, or " liners," as 
they were then called, plying between New York and 
Havre, which latter port we arrived at after a rather 
tempestuous passage of twenty-two days, nothing of note 
occurring, except that the mate was not sober during the 
whole passage. Being cousin to the captain his weakness 
was overlooked. I may also mention casually that each 
watch was allowed half a gallon of fine brandy every day 
for dinner, and in harbor boarded ashore, and lived like 
lords, all at the ship's expense. 

In a few days we commenced discharging cargo, and it 
was astonishing to witness the French dock laborers take a 
bale of cotton, weighing from five hundred to six hundred 
pounds resting on their hands behind their backs, and trot 
away with it up a stage (at an angle of thirty degrees) reach- 
ing from the ship into the warehouse. 

When discharged, we began loading a cargo of miscel- 
laneous goods, and embarked about eight hundred pas- 
sengers. We hauled out of the Napoleon dock, made sail, 
and stood away on our course for New York, making the 
passage in thirty-two days, during which we had a succession 
of light and baffling breezes, and splendid weather, inter- 
spersed with calms. 

Arriving again in New York, I went back to my old 
boarding-house in James street, where I made the acquaint- 
ance of a seaman, a native of the Azores, who told me that 



230 VISITORS. 

he belonged to the U. S. revenue cutter JEwing, on the 
New York station, and, as his term of service would expire 
on the first of June, then at hand, I could, if I would lay by 
for a few days, ship in his place. This I did, and was 
shipped accordingly. 

I liked the service well, was attentive to my duties, and 
rose in the estimation of the officers, having a station 
assigned me as captain of the fore-top. The life was ex- 
tremely pleasant in summer, plenty of boating and going 
ashore, and when crusing off the coast and becalmed 
passed the time fishing, hauling the seine, clamming and 
and oystering. Our duty was to visit the harbors on the 
station, board coasters especially, to examine their papers, 
and see that the regulation, requiring the name of the vessel 
and the hailing port be painted on her in letters at least four 
inches long, had been complied with. 

Visits of gentlemen and ladies to the revenue cutter 
occurred almost daily in fair weather. As we were lying off 
shore one day a party of ladies appeared on the dock, and 
one of them waved a white handkerchief as a signal. Orders 
were given to man the captain's gig, and in a short time 
they were on board the Swing. After looking over the 
decks, inspecting the officer's quarters, they gathered around 
one of the lieutenants, and plied him with many questions, 
by way of eliciting information or sea lore. I can only find 
space for stowing away one item, relating to the means of 
distinguishing a vessel by the number of masts she carries. 
The spokesman, or lady speaking, looking away to seaward, 
cried out as if in admiration of a fine schooner: 

" See, what a beautiful ship in full sail!" 

The lieutenant said, "Excuse me, madam, that is a 
schooner. A ship has three masts, all square rigged." 

" Is there any rule by which one may know the kind of 
ship one may see ?" 



SLOOP, SCHOONER OR SHIP. 

231 

h "Jf" / Sl ° 0P haS ° ne maSt ' a Schooner two m *sts, a 
bark has three masts, one not square rigged, and a ship has 
three masts, square rigged. 

"Ah, I see. How lovely! I have seen a steamer with 
tour masts; what would you call that?" 

"According to the style of rig. Usually the foremast is 
square rigged, and the others schooner rigged." 




SLOOP. 

"Thank you. Then the vessel we see coming into port 
is a schooner, for it has two masts." 

a No, that is a brig, but she is what is called a jackass 
brig. She has one mast square rigged and the other is 
schooner rigged, with topsail." 

Just then another lady attempted to impress her friend's 
memory by repeating the rule, "Sloop two masts, schooner 
one mast " 

"Excuse me madam; sloop one mast, schooner and brig 
two masts, bark three masts, one schooner rigged, and ship 
three masts, square rigged." 



232 EXPLANATIONS. 

First lady: " Oh, see that beautiful sloop coming from the 
east." 

" That is a cat-boat. The mast is set very close to her 
bOws." 

"Yes, dear," said number two, "cat-boat one mast, sloop 
two " 

"Sloop one mast," the officer interrupted politely, 
"schooner two, brig two, bark and ship three." 

" Well, it was always a mystery to me, and I am glad to 
have a clear explanation for once. It must be pleasant sail- 
ing in this brig." 

"This is a topsail schooner. She carries an immense 
squaresail forward, with stun'sails both sides, and with the 
wind dead astern is a very fast sailer." 

" Oh, I'm so much obliged. My uncle is a sailor; owns 
that schooner lying at the dock." 

" That is a hermaphrodite brig, madam. Foremast square 
rigged, and the mainmast schooner rigged." 

" We never shall be expert, as I see. There are so many 
different vessels, it must take a lifetime to be able to dis- 
tinguish them at a glance. I suppose I ought to repeat 
the rule until it is learned by heart. Brig; no, bark one 
mast " 

" Sloop and cat-boat one mast," said the officer, patiently, 
" schooner and brig two masts, bark and ship three masts. 
Then the barkentine has the foremast square rigged, and 
the other two schooner rigged." 

" Oh, see, there is a barkentine sailing by in the distance!" 

"No, madam, that is a ship with a jigger-mast." 

" We are ever so much obliged to you, I am sure, and 
now we can tell our friends something sure about nautical 
affairs. I wonder what uncle will say when he hears me — 
sloop three masts, schooner one " 

" Madam, excuse me, sloop one mast " 



AN OFFENDER. 233 

"Yes, so it is, sloop one, brig two, schooner three, ship 
four. We must go now. I hope we have not exhausted 
your patience. I'm sure you are very kind. I shall re- 
member this lesson as long as I live. Sloop one, cat-boat 

two, brig three, schooner four, ship No, a ship can't 

have five masts. I shall have to give it up." 

We had duties also when on the New York station, which 
extended from Block Island to the Capes of Delaware. 
Once, when in New York harbor, we were signalled from 
the barge office that we must overhaul an English ship 
then leaving port. All sail was set in a jiffy, and the ship 
was rounded to by a shot across her bows off Montauk 
Point. Her officers were ordered into the cabin, and her 
men were put in irons, and the vessel was brought back by 
a crew from the Ewing. The offense, we found out on our 
return, consisted in landing a load of passengers on Staten 
Island, and sailing at once without paying port dues, or 
showing any regard for Uncle Sam and his patient servants 
in the Custom House. 

During the time I was attached to the Ewing I had the 
narrowest possible escape from assassination, and what 
grieved me most was that the assassin's hand was that of a 
messmate whom I had looked upon as a friend. Though 
born in Albany, N. Y., yet his sisters had worked for my 
father when I was a child, at fur-sewing. His name was 
Bill Austin, and he had been coxswain of the first cutter. 
Not being competent, nor steady, I was appointed in his 
stead, and this was my offense, or his provocation. 

On the occasion in question, we were lying at our moor- 
ings in Buttermilk channel, New York harbor, when, at 
nightfall, I was despatched with the cutter and crew to 
bring off the liberty men — a certain number of our crew 
allowed ashore daily when in harbor. Bill Austin had been 
ashore this day, and came into the boat with the others, 
but scarcely had I given the usual orders, " Up oars, shove 



234 ASSASSINATION. 

off, let fall, give way," when Austin jumped aft to the stern 
sheets and endeavored to take the "yoke ropes" from me, 
exclaiming, "I will steer this boat." I of course resisted, 
and forced him into the bottom of the boat, where I had 
him so secure as not to give further trouble on our way 
aboard. The rules of the service gave me while away 
from the ship on duty, and in command of the boat, as 
much actual authority as has the captain on board. 

When we came alongside, I did not report him, as I should 
have done, but having hoisted the boat up, and " piped down 
hammocks," I filled my pipe, and went on deck to have a 
smoke. I stood smoking, and resting my elbow on the 
after part of the pipe-rail around the foremast, the bright 
moonlight gleaming over my shoulder, when my friend 
Austin came up the hatchway, and, when within about six 
or eight feet, drew his sheath-knife, and, with a rush, raised 
his arm, and would have plunged the knife into my heart; 
but, being aided by the glitter of the knife, I, as quick as 
thought, caught his descending arm, and, tripping him up 
with my foot, brought him down. The noise of the struggle 
brought the executive officer on deck, and Austin was put 
in irons for the night. The next morning I interceded with 
the first lieutenant for his release and liberation from cus- 
tody, as I had no animosity against him, and could readily 
forgive him. To this request the officer at first demurred, 
but, considering that I had won general esteem, he at last 
granted it, and Austin was released, but, feeling mortified 
and humiliated, he deserted a few days after. He was a fine 
seaman, but of an ungovernable temper, and drank very 
freely. Many a good seaman has swallowed his honor and 
self-respect in strong drink. 

I continued in the service three years. It was on board 
the Ewing that I first commenced saving my earnings, and 
became the owner of a bank-book. 



LEAVING THE EWING. 235 

One day while coming through Hell Gate, on our return 
from a cruise, it having fallen a dead calm, and the boats 
ahead towing the Ewing to keep steerage way on her, and 
the management of the boats requiring caution with nar- 
row watching, and giving orders, such as pull starboard, 
easy larboard, and vice versa, the lieutenant commanding 
looked over the bows, and, calling to me, began finding 
fault, to which I retorted, as I was in charge of the boat as 
coxswain. On coming to an anchor, with sails furled, yards 
squared, I at once demanded my discharge. This the first 
lieutenant attempted to persuade me to forego. I persisted, 
and finally procured my discharge on the ist June, 1843. 
Before leaving the Ewing, I packed my friend Arthur's 
clothes with mine in order to facilate his desertion, as his 
term had not expired, and, as we had made up our minds to 
go to the Lakes together, having been so long shipmates, 
first in the Ro7ne, then in the Aigle, where he saved my life, 
and lastly in the revenue cutter. I now drew my sav- 
ings from the bank, giving my chum Arthur half of the 
entire sum, amounting to one hundred and fifty dollars. 
While aboard the Ewing, some months previous, I had a 
conversation with one of the officers who had been stationed 
on the Lakes, and had advised me strongly to seek the 
Lakes as a fine place for a young seaman to get money. I 
resolved to make for those regions, and procured a free 
passage to Albany on a barge, and thence to Buffalo on an 
Erie canal freight boat, where I arrived in eleven days after 
leaving New York. 

Looking about us for a few days in Buffalo I shipped in 
the brig Preble, Captain Rickards, for Chicago and inter- 
mediate ports, with an assorted cargo of all kinds, which we 
had to discharge into our largest boat and land on the 
beach, as at all of the places there were no docks. 

In three weeks we arrived at the mouth of the Chicago 
river spite of all drawbacks, and my readers would scarcely 



236 CHICAGO. 

believe that at that time, only forty-four years ago, the 
present immense city, and centre of a stupendous trade con- 
tained scarcely three thousand inhabitants, only one bridge 
spanning the river, and only one tavern or rum shop. 

At the time we laid there the only other vessel besides our- 
selves was a small steamboat. The houses were merely small 
frame and log houses, and on coming to the end of a street 
one looked out on the vast and open prairie. 

After a stay of two weeks in Chicago, during which we 
discharged the remaining freight and filled up with grain, we 
set out on our return, and, making sail, we shaped our course 
for Buffalo, arriving at that port after a passage of twelve 
days. 

The sailing on these lakes is excessively hazardous on ac- 
count of the sudden and violent changes of the wind, and 
the fact that blow as it will a lee shore is always present, and 
the harbors of refuge very few and far between. 

While at Buffalo I became acquainted with the father of a 
young man who had been a shipmate with me on his first 
voyage in the ship Nia?itic to China in 1834- 1835. He was 
employed as passenger agent on one of the railroads which 
were then being constructed to the then far west, and had 
his homestead in Oswego, to which town he gave me a pass. 

His son, my old shipmate, was away on a voyage to the 
west coast of South America and California, in command of a 
staunch clipper armed brig called the Maletadel, and was en- 
gaged in an illicit trade, that of smuggling specie and bul- 
lion out of Mexico, a heavy export duty being levied by the 
government on such exports. Of course, this specie was 
in payment for imported goods, and this smuggling was con- 
nived at by the merchants and others on whom the burden 
of this onerous tax fell. 

My old shipmate, then, Captain H. W. Johnson, was ex- 
pected home shortly, and he returned in a few weeks and 
was heartily glad to see me. They (the family) wanted me 



238 DELAWARE 

to stay with them through the winter; but as I was uneasy 
ashore with nothing to do, and it was now only the middle 
of August, I proposed making another voyage before the 
winter set in. 

I will here narrate an incident which may amuse some of 
my readers as being illustrative of the awkwardness of a 
sailor on horseback. 

I was asked to fetch the letters from the post office three 
miles distant, and for that purpose was provided with a 
horse saddled and bridled. Thus mounted I proceeded on 
my errand, but had not gone far when I got off at a brook 
for a drink, and in getting on again, not noticing that the 
reins had got over his head, I reached over to get hold of 
them, when he threw me over his head on the ground, and 
started on a run for home, but some farmers caught him and 
I made the journey home with him in tow, that is, leading 
the horse by the bridle. 

To return, I accordingly shipped as mate of the schooner 
Delaware, Captain Bill Morgan, bound for Cleveland, and, 
after a few days' sail to the head of Lake Ontario, entered 
the Welland Canal. 

This canal was not yet finished, and the laborers engaged on 
the work lived in miserable huts along the banks. They were 
no better than a lot of desperate outlaws, and would come 
aboard vessels bound through and take what they pleased; at 
the same time it would have been hazardous to one's life to 
have remonstrated with them. 

At last, to our infinite satisfaction, we cleared the canal 
and steered for Cleveland. We were overtaken by a terrific 
gale, which forced us to bear up for a harbor, and for- 
tunately succeeded in bringing up under the lee of Long 
Point, on the Canadian shore, where we laid a few days wind- 
bound. The time was economically spent in cutting wood 
for our use. 



WELLAND CANAL. 239 

At last the wind becoming favorable we soon made sail, 
and bore away for our port of destination, and arrived in 
three days. Having discharged a quantity of freight we re- 
ceived a full cargo of grain for Oswego. 

Once more under sail we bore away with a fair wind for 
Port Colborne, the westerly entrance to the Welland Canal, 
again to run the gauntlet of the outlaw hordes, and having 
got through without any serious trouble we entered Lake 
Ontario, and with the wind blowing almost a gale from the 
west'ard, but fair, made Oswego, and succeeded with some 
difficulty in getting safely in, as it requires considerable ex- 
perience and skill in navigating a vessel into this harbor in 
heavy weather. 

This last voyage sickened me of lake navigation, being 
always on a lee shore, and continually handling cargo, and I 
longed for the dominions of Father Neptune. 

"The sea! The sea ! The open sea! 
The bold, the brave, the ever free." 

The crews of the vessels sailing on these Lakes were mostly 
composed of the native inhabitants who were farmers or 
backwoodsmen in the winter, which they passed felling 
timber or chopping firewood, and becoming sailors (?) in the 
summer. When sailing in a square-rigged vessel, which re- 
quires men to go aloft to reef or furl, if it came on to blow 
hard suddenly, rather than go aloft, they would let it thresh 
and blow to pieces, and then pay for it pro rata. That's 
what it costs to be a half-and-half sailor. 



> 

> 
f 

w 
o 
> 




Chapter XI. 



" O'er the glad waters of the dark-blue sea. 
Our thoughts as boundless, and our souls as free ; 
Far as the breeze can bear, the billows foam, 
Survey our empire and behold our home." 

On my return to Oswego I found my old shipmate of the 
Niantic still at home, but making preparations for going to 
New York, and I made up my mind to accompany him, and 
we started in a few days after my arrival. Again in New 
York we fetched up together at Pearsall's, near Fulton 
market, where we rested for about a week. 

The clipper brig Eagle had just been launched and was 
being fitted out for China in the opium trade. I signed 
articles for a voyage in her under Captain Ichabod Sherman. 
She was indeed a thorough beau ideal of an American clip- 
per. Strongly manned, armed, heavily sparred; her main 
yard extending nearly across the pier as she lay alongside; 
she carried an extraordinary spread of canvas, amounting 
to 40,000 square yards. 

Her owners had to give a bond before she could obtain a 
clearing, in the sum of thirty thousand dollars to the United 
States Government, as security for the good behavior of the 
brig, viz. : that she should not engage in any illegal under- 
taking against the peace and dignity of the United States. 

Once to sea we had many opportunities of testing the 
sailing qualities of our beau ideal; for when we made a sail 
hull down ahead in the morning, we would overhaul her by 
noon, and before sunset she would be invisible from the 
deck or lost to sight entirely. 

We shaped a course to the south'ard and east'ard, in 
order to meet the nor'east trades, which we did after the 



242 CANTON. 

usual succession of variable and baffling winds, with heavy 
rains, in about 6° north latitude. 

And here we were again in the region of the flying fish, 
dolphins, albicore and boneta, when we got out lances 
and harpoons to have some sport; for pretty as the dolphin 
looks playing and leaping around the bows, yet the excite- 
ment of getting out on the bark's ropes and hurling the har- 
poon and lance into their vitals and killing one occasionally, 
thus showing one's skill, is as good as can be enjoyed by any 
professor of the "gentle art" ashore. Besides, which a dol- 
phin properly cooked is a change which any one would enjoy 
after living on " salt horse" for any length of time. 

In twenty-five days after leaving New York, we passed 
through the Horse latitudes, the region of the trades, and 
meeting the westerly winds, stood towards the east, in order 
to double the Cape of Good Hope. 

Our course was about the same as that of the Niantic, ten 
years before, in which I made the eastern passage to China 
through the innumerable islands, passages, straits and in- 
land seas comprising the Eastern Archipelago. We finally 
arrived at Macao, a Portuguese colony, after a swift and 
pleasant passage of sixty-four days. 

Macao was first colonized by the Portuguese about the 
middle of the sixteenth century, and is situated on a small 
peninsula, near the mouth of the Canton river. It gradually 
expanded in size, and attained greater importance, and, at 
the time of which I write, was a place of call for orders, 
and also captains of ships having their wives with them 
would leave them there, because foreign women are denied 
entrance into the Celestial Empire. Chinese women are 
admitted to this country, but with considerable opposition. 

Here we discharged our cargo of ginseng root, and then 
proceeded to Hong Kong. 

Since I was there last in the Niantic, Hong Kong had 
been ceded to Britain by treaty made after the close of the 



244 HONG KONG. 

first opium war, namely: in 1842, and had improved most 
rapidly, for where, as when on my first voyage, the place 
consisted of a few miserable Chinese dwellings, the new 
town, which had sprung up since the possession of the 
island by the British, contained many fine buildings. The 
principal part of the town was built on a hill. Lord Saltown 
was governor of the island. 

At Hong Kong, we loaded with a cargo of opium for the 
ports on the nor'east coast and Shanghai. This coast was 
then imperfectly known, and we had to keep the lead con- 
stantly going; but, in spite of all our caution, we got ashore 
at the entrance of the East China, or "Yellow Sea," and in 
four hours the Eagle was " high and dry on her bilge," so 
that we could walk right round her, the tide in this part hav- 
ing a rise and fall of seventy feet. However, at high water 
of the next tide she floated, and we proceeded on our 
voyage. 

We supplied opium at Ningpo, Chusan, Amoy, Woosung, 
and various small ports, and finally arrived at Shanghai. 

The opium, instead of being put ashore, was delivered 
into receiving ships moored in the roads off the ports, and 
rode there dismantled, and roofed over. At the change of 
the monsoon, and the inevitable typhoons setting in, these 
receiving ships were removed to a harbor of safety. 

The Chinese opium smugglers, when they required a 
supply of opium would run up alongside, and, quickly put- 
ting a bag of Spanish pillar dollars in one scale, it would be 
balanced by opium in the other, the price being weight for 
weight, and when they had obtained as much as they re- 
quired would be off to dispose of their cargo. Sometimes 
they would be pursued by Chinese government revenue 
boats, and, if overtaken, a bloody and determined resistance 
was inevitable, for, if captured, the smugglers were certain 
of death by strangulation, or being pressed to death between 
two planks or bamboos, and of course they preferred death 



246 AMOY. 

in fight. Thus, figuratively speaking, " fighting with a halter 
round their necks." 

Shanghai is advantageously situated on the River Woo- 
sung, near the Yang-tse-Kiang. The tide flows rapidly at 
about the rate of eight or ten miles an hour. The great 
advantage of Shanghai as a port is its easy communication 
by water with the interior provinces, and the populous cities 
on the Yang-tse-Kiang, and the Imperial Canal. 

At this port we discharged the remainder of the opium 
we had on board, and received an immense amount of treas- 
ure in bars of (lycee) silver and specie for Hong Kong, to 
which port we returned after an absence of three weeks, 
and discharged the treasure into a British man-of-war about 
sailing for England. 

In a few days the ship Old England, of and from Liver- 
pool, arrived in the harbor, and our brig was chartered to 
carry her cargo, consisting of baled goods, up the coast to 
Amoy. While receiving the cargo one day, at dinner time, an 
altercation took place between one of the seamen and the 
mate of the English ship, the mate, seizing a hand-spike, 
with one blow struck the seaman dead. The mate was taken 
ashore in manacles by a man-of-war boat, and I suppose held 
for trial. 

Arriving at Amoy, and discharging the cargo taken from 
the Old England, we returned to Hong Kong, where we 
passed five weeks painting, refitting ship, and setting up; also 
rattling, tarring down, and otherwise making her " ship 
shape " and " Bristol fashion." Captain Sherman had been 
instructed on leaving home, that should he be offered a 
round sum for the Eagle to let her slide, but, having not had 
an offer suitable to his views, we now prepared ourselves for 
the approaching change of the "monsoons," and consequent 
setting in of the typhoons, which blow with terrific fury, 
and with such force that a West India hurricane is a gentle 
zephyr in comparison. 



TYPHOON. 247 

With this purpose in view, we weighed anchor, and, under 
easy sail, stood into the "Typa," a land-locked harbor 
(within sight of Macao), wherein shipping are thoroughly 
protected from the immense power of the furious typhoons — 
(from the Chinese "ty," strong or powerful, and "phoong," 
wind). 

We had been lying in this "refuge" but a short time 
when Captain Graves, of the ship Navigator, of Salem, 
Mass., being short-handed through desertion, applied to 
our captain for volunteers to recruit his ship's company. 

I and three others, tiring of our inactivity, volunteered, 
and shipped in her for Sydney, New South Wales, thence to 
Manilla, and back to Whampoa. 

The monsoons having changed, and the dangerous ty- 
phoons having now expended their force, we weighed, and 
stood out of the " Typa " for Hong Kong, and were speedily 
chartered and laid alongside of a large Liverpool ship, the 
Minden. 

The Minden had arrived at Hong Kong with a full cargo 
of British goods, part of which was consigned to parties in 
China, and part to Sydney, New South Wales, but her 
captain, having obtained a charter at Hong Kong to load 
with new crop teas, etc., for England, concluded it would 
pay better to engage another vessel to carry that part of his 
cargo marked for Sydney, and thus leave him free to load 
for England. 

The passage to Sydney occupied thirty-two days, passing 
through the China Sea to the east'ard of Borneo, and to the 
west'ard of Philippines, through the Sooloo Sea, and west of 
Papua or New Guinea, through the Torres Straits, and 
lastly into the beautiful harbor of Sidney. Here we dis- 
charged our freight of British goods of all kinds, and, taking 
in sufficient ballast to keep the ship on her legs, weighed, 
and made sail for Manilla, 



240 PILLAR DOLLARS. 

While in Sydney the usual liberty was allowed the crew 
to go ashore for a day, just previous to sailing, and some of 
them coming on board very drunk and riotous refused to 
obey orders, and could not be controlled. The captain 
went ashore and procured a guard of soldiers, who came on 
board, and removed the ringleaders on shore and flogged 
them, which was an arbitrary act, and a stretch of authority 
on the part of the captain, as well as of the British officer in 
command of the military. 

We were bound to Manilla for a cargo of rice for China 
(the crop in that country had partly failed that year), and 
arrived in Manilla after a passage of twenty-two days. 

Being provided with Spanish pillar dollars to pay for the 
rice, we had to transport the specie ashore in the long boat 
at great risks from the attacks of the " Ladrones," or pirates, 
with which these islands were then infested. We, however, 
delivered the dollars safely, received our cargo of rice in 
bags, and made ready for sea; then weighed anchor, and 
bore away for China, distant one thousand two hundred 
miles. Arrived in Whampoa reach, the seaport of Canton, 
we moored ship after a passage of twelve days, unbent sails, 
after drying them, sent down royal-yards, lashing them to 
the swifters, and then commenced discharging the rice into 
chops (native lighters). 

We had been at work a couple of days discharging the 
rice, when the old trouble between the officers and crew 
broke out again. One of the latter, who had been flogged 
at Sydney, was talking in a loud tone of voice while at work, 
when the mate ordered him to shut up, or he would serve 
him the same as at Sydney, to which the man retorted that 
he would not shut up, as he could and would work and talk 
as well. 

The mate at length, assisted by the second mate and 
captain, sought to lay hands on the seaman, who defended 
himself, in which he was ably seconded by the entire crew, 



x^::^ * V' 



:i*r . • i-- ■> - 






';%>, 




SUNSET. 



INVESTIGATION. 249 

who quit work, resolved that they should receive good 
treatment as men, or claim the protection of the U. S. 
frigate Brandywine, which lay moored off the " Bocca 
Tigris," or " Bogue Forts," a few miles below our anchorage 
at Whampoa. The captain and mates, awed by the resolute 
attitude of the crew, retreated into the cabin and submitted. 
I instantly wrote a letter to Commodore Parker in command 
of the frigate Brandywine, flagship of the American Asiatic 
squadron, submitting our grievances, and reciting the tyran- 
nical and cruel conduct of the captain and officers of the 
Navigator, and invited an investigation, with the object of 
putting a stop to further acts of oppression. 

This letter I had conveyed by a native boat called a " fast 
boat," for which service and answer I paid about three 
dollars. The reply was enclosed in a piece of bamboo 
instead of an envelope, to the effect that my communication 
would be attended to next day. 

The following day the first lieutenant of the frigate came 
on board, instituted an inquiry, and concluded his investiga- 
tions by announcing that all who wished their discharge and 
leave the ship could do so. I with others — in all, two-thirds 
of the crew — availed ourselves of the opportunity, had our 
discharges made out, and, with orders on the Compradone 
at Whampoa for our pay, went ashore in a sanpan. 

Immediately on receiving our pay I engaged as seaman in 
the Boston-built pilot schooner Gazelle, Captain Doane, the 
other portion of the discharged Navigator's crew separating 
and shipping in different vessels. 

The Gazelle, though a small craft of ninety tons measure- 
ment, carried a crew of eighty men, was well armed, and 
painted sea-green, so as not to be so conspicuous at a dis- 
tance, and carried such a crowd of canvas that when under 
all sail, with a beam wind or close-hauled with a stiff breeze, 
she would lay over, and the captain would carry sail until 
the water would almost reach the main hatch combings, 



250 



GAZELLE. 



and her long, tapering yellow pine masts would bend until 
they formed an angle of twenty degrees, especially when any 
suspicious piratical-looking junk or lorchas hove in sight. She 
was employed in carrying treasure from the opium receiving 
ships to Whampoa, for shipment to Canton, or more generally 
to England or Calcutta, and sometimes Bombay. The large 
crew and armament, in connection with her admirable sail- 
ing qualities, were necessary to protect her from the attacks 




.-■ - ■ ■ . . . ■ 



GAZELLE. 



of the hordes of Ladrone pirates who swarmed in these 
waters. I have often assisted in loading her with millions in 
" Lycee silver," in pigs like lead or iron packed in strong 
boxes, like those used for the purpose of packing and ship- 
ping tin. One night, on our second trip to Canton or 
Whampoa, loaded with treasure to the planksheer almost, 
and while riding at anchor in Cumsingmoon passage in a 
dead calm with a strong ebb against us, the Gazelle was 
attacked by a number of these pirates, about one hundred 
and fifty of them having stealthily jumped overboard from 



PIRATES. 251 

junks anchored further up stream, and, dividing into two 
lines, so as to come alongside on both sides simultaneously, 
drifted silently down on us with the swiftly-running tide, 
seemingly as much at their ease in the water as on the land, 
and, heaving fire-balls and stink-pots on our decks, attempted 
to board us. We had our boarding nettings triced up, but 
they being bold, daring fellows, about fifty or more suc- 




CHINESE JUNK. 

ceeded in getting a footing on our decks, only to be repelled 
after a desperate struggle. We drove them back into the 
water, that is, those who were not killed or so wounded that 
they were unable to escape. On our side, though we had 
but one, a Venetian, killed, yet many were more or less seri- 
ously wounded. I was fortunate enough to escape with some 



252 



HOMESICK. 



flesh wounds, which, though not dangerous, were sufficiently 
severe to leave scars and marks which will last me as me- 
mentoes of the fray as long as I live. 

I sailed in the Gazelle until the change of the " monsoon," 
which took place about the middle of October, 1844, when I 




REPELLING ATTACK OF PIRATES. 



left her, she being at that time at anchor lying off Hong 
Kong. 

I was now getting home-sick, and wished to get back to 
the realms of civilization, but before a chance presented 
itself of shipping in a homeward bounder I sailed for a 
couple of months in a lorcha, a Portuguese-built sort of junk, 
built for swift sailing, flying the colors of Portugal, manned 
chiefly by Portuguese, and hailing from Macao. She was 



A THIEF ON BOARD. 253 

engaged in carrying passengers and light freight between 
Hong Kong, Canton, Macao, Whampoa, Lintin and other 
small places, whose names I cannot recall to memory. 

At last I shipped in the ship John G. Coster, lying moored 
in Whampoa reach, Captain Benson, bound for New York, 
with a very valuable cargo of the costliest shawls, silks, teas, 
&c, and fancy articles. 

One night, just before sailing, on being called to stand my 
anchor watch, and had just got on deck, I was taken aback 
by perceiving down the booby hatch the reflection of a light, 
and going down to the 'tween decks to ascertain the cause, 
was surprised at seeing the man whom I had relieved, who 
was an English seaman named Murray, a desperate and de- 
termined character, in the act of overhauling some small 
cases containing some very valuable goods. One of them 
he had open, which contained magnificent crape shawls of 
great value. I demanded an explanation, when he, in reply, 
and to strengthen his argument, placed a heavy navy pistol 
at my head, and gave me my choice of either becoming an 
accomplice and sharer of the spoils, or of having my brains 
scattered. I, under the circumstances, and remembering 
that, in some cases, " discretion is the better part of valor," 
elected the former proposition, and got as my share three 
beautiful shawls out of a case containing seven, and one 
dozen silk handkerchiefs out of a case of five dozen. Re- 
membering also that in many cases " silence is golden," I con- 
cluded to follow that wise maxim, and said nothing to any 
one about the matter, but stowed my plunder in my mattrass 
in my hammock well protected from the sea air, until I 
arrived in New York. This seaman, Murray, was about to 
exchange the following day for an American seaman on board 
a Liverpool ship bound for that port, and on the point of 
sailing, so he wished to feather his nest, and thought the 
present was his best opportunity. 



254 



ANJER. 



Having completed our lading we were soon ready for sea, 
when we unmoored, and, with a native pilot, made sail 
and worked down the river, and finally to sea, with the 
nor'east monsoon astern of us. We packed every stitch of 
canvas on her that would draw, and in twelve days came to 
at Anjer, in the Straits of Sunda, and furled sails. We re- 
mained there about a week, filling water from the shore and 




PROCESSION — ANJER. 



stocking the ship with fine poultry. Captain Benson, com- 
bining business with pleasure, took a trip .to Batavia, the 
crew meanwhile trading for " joggery" (native sugar, not un- 
like maple), Java sparrows and monkeys, as a little specula- 
tion, in barter for sundry odds and ends in the way of cast-off 
clothing, broken knifes and razor-blades. I procured a large 
number of Java sparrows and a few monkeys, some of which 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



^55 



were white-faced. Most of them, particularly the white- 
faced ones, died; and about half of the sparrows, from the 
cold, in doubling the Cape of Good Hope. 

When the captain returned, we weighed anchor, made 
sail, and, standing through the straits, soon were on the 




MONKEY MERCHANT. 



broad bosom of the mighty Indian Ocean, staggering along 
at a lively gait under a press of sail, with a favorable gale 
from the east'ard, which carried us nearly up to the Cape of 
Good Hope, making the passage from Anjer in twenty-eight 
days. There we encountered heavy westerly winds for two 



256 FIRE ISLAND. 

weeks, lying to most of the time, till, with the aid of the 
westerly current, we at last doubled the Cape, after that 
the sou'east trades sent us a kiting once more with every 
stitch of canvas set.) Topmast, to'gallant, and royal stun'- 
sails both sides, and fore, main, and mizen standing, sky- 
sails, with a flying mainmoon-sail, with lower stun'sails, 
which we carried up to 15 north latitude, when, taking the 
nor'east trades, hauled in the larboard stun'sails, bracing up 
the yards by the larboard braces, with the wind abeam, 
carried the nor'east trades up to 28 north latitude, where, 
losing the trade winds, we fell in with variable but light 
winds. The latter part of the passage took as much time to 
accomplish as the passage from the Cape to where we lost 
the trades. 

At last we made Fire Island and the light-ship, received a 
pilot and tug, made fast in the afternoon at the foot of Wall 
street, alongside the wharf, after a passage of one hundred 
and ten days from Whampoa. 

When in the sou'east trades it is customary for ships, 
especially Indiamen, to furbish up, so as to make a good 
show in coming into port, and gratify the owners. 

The whole crew were thus employed in painting inside 
and out, aloft, the spars, masts, mastheads and blocks, stun'- 
sail boom ends, bowsprit and jibboom ends, sprit-sail yards, 
and everything requiring painting. I had completed the 
task of painting the spars on the foremast, with everything 
attached, and had come on deck, when the chief mate, notic- 
ing that the men who had been painting the spars, etc., 
attached to bowsprit had neglected to paint the dolphin 
striker or martingale, said to me, as I was going along with 
my paint-pot in hand, " Oh! Davis, just step out and paint 
the dolphin striker!" I said, " No, let those who were 
painting out there complete their work. I have had a big 
job to-day, and have done it well. Is it not well done? 
Then, I do not see why I should finish what others have 



CAPTAIN BENSON. 257 

neglected to do." "Do you refuse duty?" demanded the 
mate. 

I made no reply, but walked aft where Captain Benson 
was standing. I laid down my paint-pot in a secure spot. 
I said, " Captain Benson, I appeal to you as the fountain 
head of this ship. I have been hard at work all day, and 
have done the part assigned to me carefully and well, and 
now Mr. Reed has ordered me to complete the work which 
others have been so careless or lazy as to neglect." Captain 
Benson merely said, " Davis, go and have your supper!" 
So the matter ended. 

Captain Benson was a very large and very powerful man, 
a native of Connecticut, and weighed about two hundred 
and eighty pounds. He stood six feet two inches, and, 
when on a previous voyage to China (in command of the 
ship Roman, of New York), via west coast of America and 
the Sandwich Islands, had kept well to the nor'ard to ob- 
tain the strong easterly winds, which at certain seasons pre- 
vail in these high latitudes. Approaching the Asiatic 
Coast and the Japanese Islands, he endeavored to run into 
a Japanese harbor in order to obtain supplies, as he had 
run short. The Roman was hove to at the entrance of the 
harbor, the boat lowered and manned, with the captain in 
her, when two Japanese government boats, each with an 
official in her, came from the shore, and forbid the captain 
to proceed any further in shore. His boat then ran in be- 
tween the two Japanese, who closed on him, when he raised 
an official in each hand out of the stern- sheets, and kept 
them under water till they were drowned like rats, then 
pulled aboard the Roman, and filled away on his course. 
This was related to me by an eye-witness, and, judging from 
the huge muscular development of Captain Benson, I could 
well believe in the truth of the story. 

I had no difficulty in landing my silks from the ship, 
the custom's authorities not being so strict in those days; 



2 5 8 



INDIA SHAWLS. 



and shortly afterward, with the silk shawls under my arm, 
entering a dry-good's store in Pearl street, near Maiden lane, 
was offered three dollars for each shawl, at which I closed 
the sale, and disposed of the balance of my cargo at my 
leisure at good prices all round. I had also about one 
hundred and fifty Java sparrows, and a few ordinary 




ANJER BEAUTY. 



monkeys, with a white one or two, if I recollect aright, all 
of which I sold at good prices, so that, with my pay, I found 
myself the sole owner of about fifteen hundred dollars — quite 
a millionaire in my imagination. 

And now, what could I do better then visit my native 
city, Montreal, and disport myself as an independent gentle- 
man living on his means? 






MONTREAL. 259 

I was astounded at, I may say, the advanced state of 
civilization my fellow-townsmen had attained during my 
absence, as compared with their mode of life when I first 
went to sea. For, whereas, at that time the ground floors 
of the houses of the working classes were bare, and without 
wooden floors, and scantily covered with furniture of rude 
and ancient construction, now, when I visited it, almost 
every house boasted a piano, and floors covered with Brussels 
or more costly carpets, and liberally supplied with books, 
such as the works of Victor Hugo, Dumas, and other French 
authors. 

I passed two months at Montreal enjoying myself, visiting 
neighboring villages, etc., till at last, tired of having nothing 
to do, I returned to New York and sought another ship. 



■ 



■fit- M 





=1 lESsss 





Chapter XII. 

" And I have loved thee. Ocean : and my joy 

Of youthful sports was on thy breast to be 
Borne, like the bubbles, onward ; from a boy 

I wanton'd with thy breakers — they to me 
Were a delight ; and if the freshening sea 

Made them a terror, 'twas a pleasant fear, 
For I was as it were a child of thee, 

And trusted to thy billows far and near." 

I now shipped as second mate of the brig Walter J?. 
Jones, Jr., Captain Moses Nickerson, of Cape Cod, bound 
for Norfolk, Va., to load with corn for an eastern port. 
We had an entire crew of negroes, who were first rate sea- 
men. On the fourth morning out from New York, and 
during my watch, we made Cape Henry, one of the Chesa- 
peake capes, when the captain, coming on deck, and look- 
ing round and perceiving some of the crew "caulking" 
(nautical, sleeping), said to me, "Mr. Davis, if you catch 

any of these black sons of b s sleeping on their 

watch, take a handspike and knock their brains out." I 
instantly replied, " Captain Nickerson, I did not ship on 
board this vessel in the capacity of a butcher, but as an 
officer." That ended the matter, and the captain took no 
further notice. 

When we arrived alongside the wharf at Norfolk, officers 
boarded the brig and took our negro crew to jail, where 
they remained until we were loaded and ready to sail, when 
they were brought on board again. The owners or char- 
terers, as agreed, having to pay for their board while in jail, 
and their wages going on all the same, though the ship was 
deprived of their services in the meantime. 

Receiving our colored crew, who had been enjoying a 
holiday in the "calaboose," we hauled out from the wharf- 
slip, made sail, and, standing down toward the Capes of 
the Chesapeake, shaped a course for Naragansett bay and 



2&2 



CAPE COD. 



Dighton, R. I., where we arrived after a passage of seven days 
(stopping at Fall River some hours to do some business), 
and prepared to discharge the corn into lighters as we lay 
out in the stream. 

We were nearly unloaded, when Captain Nickerson and I 
had an altercation about the extreme parsimony with which 
the brig had been fitted out for the voyage. No spare rig- 
ging, no spun yarn, no marlin, and not a decent marlin-spike 









SLOOP. 



on board, and, as words ran high, I announced my deter- 
mination to leave the brig there and then. In this I was 
joined by the first mate, a Mr. Brown, of South Yarmouth, 
Cape Cod, and, procuring a whale-boat with a lug-sail from 
an acquaintance, made the passage to his home on the Cape, 



NEW LONDON. 263 

through a passage or some sort of straits back of Newport, 
in a day and part of a night, with a nice breeze from the 
west'ard most of the time at sea. 

Mate Brown gave me a sailor's welcome to his home, 
which I availed myself of, and remained some days, when a 
brig in distress and dismasted, bound for Boston, put into 
Hyannes, and I was engaged to assist in refitting and toget 
her ship-shape for sea service, as also to assist in navigating 
her round to Boston, which was all accomplished in three 
weeks. 

On being paid by the underwriters for my services, I took 
the train for New York, via New London by boat. 

As I got on the wharf at New London to go on board the 
boat for New York, I was met and recognized at once by 
the first lieutenant of the U. S. R. M. schooner Ewing, a 
Mr. Chaddock, then on that station, and who had been 
second lieutenant of the Ewing in 1842, on the New York 
station, and who was since lost, with nearly all on board, in 
the Brother Jonathan, at the mouth of Columbia river bar 
in 1866. He told me that as the Ewing was about relieving 
vessels in distress on the coast now, she needed some good 
seamen, and would like a dozen like myself. Of course I 
am fond of flattery; still I shipped in her, as I had an affec- 
tion for the ship, and immediately joined and signed articles 
on the 1 st December, 1845, for one year. 

We cruised on the coast that noted severe winter until the 
latter part of March, 1846, relieving vessels in distress, for 
which purpose we had an extra complement of men on 
board, also large quantities of provisions and water in order 
to relieve their hunger when required, and protecting the 
revenue at the same time. 

On one occasion, while thus cruising off the coast, we 
sighted a large bark apparently abandoned, with all sails 
blown away. On boarding and overhauling her, we dis- 
covered that her decks and bulwarks had been clean swept 



264 



A DANGEROUS DRUNK 



of crew and every movable; long-boat, galley, deck-houses, 
spars, and all had shared a common fate, which supposition 
proved afterwards to be correct, for no one ever appeared 
in New York, or was picked up belonging to the ill-fated 
bark. We took her in tow, with a couple of men on board 
to steer her, and brought her into New London. Each man 
afterwards received about one hundred and fifty dollars 
salvage money. But before leaving this subject, I must 
narrate that the boat's crew that boarded her the first time, 
and of which I was coxswain, having found a half pipe of 




NEW LONDON, CT. 



splendid gin on board, broached it, and got drunk, myself 
included. For this offense, when on duty, after we had the 
derelict bark safe at anchor in New London, Captain Moore 
was about to put me in irons, and had actually ordered the 
executive officer, Mr. Chaddock, to do so, or rather to have 
it done, as I, being coxswain, and in charge of the boat and 
crew, was responsible for their good conduct, but, as I was 



NEW LONDON 265 

told afterwards by the wardroom steward, the first lieu- 
tenant interposed in my behalf, on the ground that I was 
enthusiastic in the performance of my duties, was obedient, 
and had sailed with him years before, and had never before 
known me to violate the rules of the service in any particular, 
and moreover was an excellent seamen. Captain Moore, in 
consideration of these representations, consented to over- 
look the offense, and I was saved the degradation. That 
came very near proving a very expensive " drunk." 

One morning, when lying at anchor in New London, I, 
being cook of our mess for the week, had prepared a mess of 
what seamen term " lobscouse," and is a favorite dish. When 
breakfast was announced by the boatswain's pipe or call, all 
hands, as is customary, repaired to their respective messes, 
except a quarter gunner, Bob Richards, who had lingered on 
deck, and when he came to get his breakfast, he, sitting down 
on the locker addressing me, said, " Davis, where's my lob- 
scouse." I replied, " That it had all been eaten." He re- 
torted with, " You son of a b — h, why didn't you keep some 
for me ? " 

Fighting being prohibited by the rules of the service, I 
had to forego my inclination of pitching into him there and 
then, but saying, " Bob! Til make you sorry for saying that 
word to me." About two months after I prevailed on the 
boatswain to include me in the same watch of liberty men 
ashore that Richards belonged to, but I was fearful that 
Richards would decline to go ashore if he knew I formed 
one of the same liberty men. So, as it was dark when 
we went ashore, I stowed myself under the bow grating 
and thus escaped his observation. As soon as he had leaped 
on to the wharf I immediately followed, and, going up to 
him told him I intended to have it out with him for what he 
had called me on the above-narrated occasion. 

Richards was a much larger and heavier man than myself, 
and many of the crew knowing what was to be the finale of 



266 NEW LONDON. 

our quarrel had made bets pretty freely on the result, the 
odds being against me. However, I did my best and I 
whipped him till he was taken away, and he was laid up for 
about a week. 

New London was a sort of sailor's paradise where every- 
one felt at ease, had full liberty to spin all his ancient yarns, 
now called chestnuts by landsmen, and to patiently listen to 
contests in which one Jack Tar tried to outsail all the others 
on the sea of gab and froth. From hundreds of sea-tales 
heard there I can only give space to one in which Luther 
Barker, born in New London, and shipped in early years on 
a whaler, was the victim of a captain's whim. He had a fond 
father, who showed his affection for his son by swinging him 
by the heels and cracking his skull against a stone wall. The 
doctor trephined his skull, and, it was said, inserted a silver 
plate to keep the cold air off his brain, which, in spite of all 
such caution, often became overheated, and Luther would 
make himself more or less troublesome to his associates. On 
one of his whaling voyages the captain confined him in a 
sort of hen-coop, built for the purpose, for four months, 
while the ship was sailing from the South Pacific to New 
London, full of whale oil. Every day, r.nd several times a 
day, the captain would take food to him, usually scraps from 
the table, and call "chick, chick, chick; kip, kip, kip." As 
soon as he got ashore, Barker brought a suit for damages and 
recovered $2,000. When the money was paid in court 
Barker hauled the money over the table and called, "chick, 
chick, chick; kip, kip, kip," as the captain had done to him 
in the hen-coop. The captain's name has slipped my 
memory, which is a misfortune, for I would delight in im- 
mortalizing the brute. 

I was told that a sailor from New Bedford was towed 
astern in a cask for a month or two, by a very humane cap- 
tain of the bark Peri, of that port. I say humane, because 
he might have kept the cask astern for three or four months, 



WAR WITH MEXICO. 267 

or the entire return voyage. Of course, a jury gave a ver- 
dict for damages, but how could a small sum of money com- 
pensate a man for a month's bouncing on the waves astern 
of a plunging ship in an iron-bound cask ? " Man's inhu- 
manity to man" is verified, or was, by many a brutal captain 
or mate in my day 

In March, 1846, war impending between the United States 
and Mexico, the Ewing received orders to recruit her crew 
to a war standard, for which purpose our first lieutenant 
went to New York and soon filled up the number from the 
recruiting offices and sailor boarding-houses, and then we, 
all hands except the commissioned officers, had a week on 
shore at nights, where we made a regular old-fashioned time 
of it, with fife and drum, hurrah and song, with banners 
bearing strange devices, and our spirits, which were already 
patriotically high, raised a little higher by a copious infusion 
of the spirit of John Barleycorn, esquire, a friend of the 
commissary. That was a free and glorious time, and our 
expectations ran high. Some of the older ones anticipated 
golden harvests, others, younger, thirsted for victims of their 
courage and prowess among the blanked Mexicans. And 
these feelings were heightened, as we marched up and down 
the streets of that little town in the land of wooden nutmegs, 
by the girls who waved their handkerchiefs from the win- 
dows, or threw bouquets of flowers to us, and shouted them- 
selves hoarse as we marched to and fro in the moonlight. 
Some of the streets were illuminated with all sorts of lights 
in the windows and bonfires in the streets, and decorated 
with flags everywhere. If we had not got away as we did in 
a week or so we should have been of very little use as against 
Mexicans or even smugglers. 

We got ready for sea, and sailed under sealed orders on 
the 4th April for the Gulf of Mexico. This sailing on a war 
footing was a new experience to the crew of the Ewing, and, 
like the war horse, we " sniffed the battle from afar," and 



268 WAR WITH MEXICO. 

pictured ourselves returning with honor and glory and a good 
swag of prize money. 

But even then there was an undercurrent of feeling and 
sentiment that came to the surface now and then when there 
was no war spirit loose. The younger men would gather in 



HURRAH BOYS ! ORDERS FOR MEXICO. 

groups of four or five, under an awning, or in the fo'castle, 
or even about the guns or coils of rope, and talk or sing 
songs. 

We arrived off the passes of the Mississippi on the 2d 



270 AT THE POST OFFICE. 

of May, where we received orders which directed us to cruise 
in search of Mexican merchant vessels, and co-operate with 
the navy in maintaining a blockade of the enemy's ports. 

We captured several coasting craft creeping along shore 
between Vera Cruz and the Rio Grande, and which, with 
a prize crew aboard, were sent up to New Orleans for 
adjudication. 

During one of these cruises we encountered a very heavy 
norther, in which we sprung our foremast, and were on 
the point of heaving our armament overboard, but a council 
of officers decided against it. However, we were obliged 
to return to New Orleans and step a new foremast. 

While performing this operation a most melancholy ac- 
cident befell us — more sad, inasmuch as it happened through 
the incompetence or gross negligence of the bo'son, who 
had the superintendence, and which might otherwise have 
been avoided. The heel lashing of the port or larboard 
sheer leg had not been properly secured from tripping, and 
as we set taut on the new spar, which was in the water on 
the starboard side, the whole business (as it is now termed) 
came crashing down, carrying away bulwarks, and killing 
two men on the spot where they stood, on the spar which 
they had been lashing, 

During the norther that sprung our foremast, as just 
narrated, I had occasion to go out to the lee foreyard-arm, 
not being able to go into the head, and was about fifteen 
feet outboard, and in the act of adjusting my clothing, 
when the lee-lift parted, but I just saved myself by catching 
the foot-rope as I was in the act of falling, thus narrowly 
escaping certain death. 

When I was waiting my turn to ask for letters at the 
window of the post office in New Orleans some one tapped 
me on the shoulder; it was a Captain Logan, from Ver- 
mont, but who was brought up in Montreal, where he and 
I went to school together. He asked me to go with him as 




SOTO LA MARINA. 



272 AN EPISODE. 

mate in the Isaac Allerton, but I had other plans and could 
not accept. He afterwards retired with a competence, 
bought a farm near Skaneateles, New York, a beautiful 
spot overlooking the lake. Many of his neighbors are 
Quakers, and he is half inclined that way now. 

A boat's crew, of which I was a component part, fully 
armed, one day had a very narrow escape from falling into 
the hand's of the enemy. We had gone ashore on a forag- 
ing expedition at a place called Soto la Marina, on the 
Mexican coast, and had already met with some success, 
when we espied a body of Mexican lancers coming down 
on us at full charge. A scamper for the boat ensued, as it 
was sauve qui pent, and we fortunately got away in time, for, 
though the soldiers sent some shots after us from their 
carbines, we escaped without casualty. 

Another little episode occurred while cruising. An 
armed boat's crew in charge of a gulf pilot had landed on 
Padre Island for the purpose of shooting "buffalo" to 
supply the Ewing with beef. The beach of this island was 
covered with wreckage of ships laden with army stores, 
which had been cast away. A cask of whisky having 
been found intact, we quickly knocked in the head with 
the butts of our muskets, and partook of the contents pretty 
freely, but not sufficient to lose our heads, with the excep- 
tion of one named Jack Lang. He got so drunk that he 
forgot his musket, and when we returned to the Ewing a 
great commotion was made about it. Lang was brought on 
the quarter-deck to answer for his conduct, but he in- 
geniously pleaded that it was sunstroke that was answer- 
able for it all. Therefore he got off, and the sun was 
blamed. The derelict musket was afterwards found by a 
boat's crew sent ashore to look for it. 

While lying off Vera Cruz composing part of the U. S. 
Gulf squadron, of which the sloop of war Si. Mary was 
.one, we were eye witnesses to one of those executions, 



HANGED AT THE YARD ARM. 273 

which, although they seem to be most cruel and against 
the laws of nature, yet are deemed necessary to insure that 
perfect discipline so essential when before the enemy. The 
man who thus suffered the extreme penalty of the " articles 
of war" was named Jackson. He was coxswain of one of 
the boats, and one of the best, if not the best, seaman 
aboard. He had been suddedly called away on his special 
duty as coxswain, and, at the moment of being called, had 
hastily thrown a pair of shoes he had in his hand under one 
of the gun-slides. The first lieutenant, on duty as officer 
of the deck, in the course of his rounds seeing the shoes, 
ordered them to be hove overboard. On the return of 
Jackson he sought for his shoes, and, not finding them, 
asked some of his messmates what had become of them, 
and being informed that the officer of the deck had ordered 
them to be hove overboard, he instantly went aft, and, 
addressing the deck officer, demanded if he had given orders 
for his shoes to be pitched overboard, and on the first 
lieutenant answering in ,the affirmative, Jackson, without 
another word, knocked him down. Within an hour Jackson 
was tried by court-martial, pronounced guilty, sentenced, 
and hanged at the foreyard-arm. 

I have heard that a society exists in the United States, 
with branches in New York and the principal cities, whose 
bye-laws provide for the arrest, trial and execution of 
criminals who have evaded the laws of the State "within 
the hour." It is said that with a membership of many 
thousands scattered throughout the States, and belonging 
to many professions and trades, and during ten or twelve 
years the "Mystic Shrine," as it is called, has not had a 
single case to try. Prevention is better than cure. 

Before closing my reminiscences of the Ewing in the 
Gulf of Mexico, I will relate how, after leaving the Balize 
at the nor'east pass, bound up to the head of the passes, 
and then down to and through the nor'west pass to the 



ALLIGATORS. 275 

Gulf, we lost two seamen overboard from the jibboom, 
while at work bending a new jib; had just finished, and the 
sail being too suddenly hoisted, flapped them both over- 
board. Nothing more was seen of them except their caps 
and some blood, their bodies having undoubtedly been 
immediately seized by alligators. 

We were also so unfortunate as to lose two more young 
seamen overboard while cruising in the Gulf at night. We 
were under easy canvas, with a very moderate breeze, when 
a school of porpoises came darting and plunging towards 
us, intending to cross our bows. Then two seamen each 
seized a harpoon, and stood on the "back-ropes" near the 
"dolphin striker." One of them having launched his har- 
poon successfully, it stuck into a porpoise, and, as is the 
wont of porpoises when wounded, it doubled back, and the 
shaft of the harpoon having got between the two men they 
were both tripped overboard 

I reckon that a few extracts from the log about the dif- 
ferent captains who commanded the Ewing while I was in 
her will be interesting, because they were a varied lot. One 
was Captain Gay Moore. If it was fortunate to have a red 
head then he was one of the most fortunate the navy was 
ever honored with, for his head was very fiery, inside as 
well as outside. It was stuffed with tyrannical notions. 
One of our watch said in making him they had used a 
spoiled devil. His courage was what might be expected 
from such a negative man, as an incident in the voyage to 
the Mexican coast will exhibit. One hazy morning, off the 
Tortugas, we were standing off one of the keys, only a 
short sail from Key West, when the lookout at the mast- 
head called out sail, ho ! and the usual answer and inquiries 
brought Captain Moore on deck looking very pale in 
spots, and acting nervously, and when he caught full 
sight of the hull of a man-of-war, ordered the decks cleared 
for action, guns shotted, matches lighted, magazines opened, 



276 CAPTAIN MOORE. 

and every man at his station, and then he went at once 
below and just hid in his state-room. The first lieutenant 
hailed the vessel, and the response was " The Bainbridge, 
United States brig of war." Then our brave captain, 
finding it was not a Mexican, came out into daylight once 
more. 

On the coast of Mexico, a few days before the attack on 
Vera Cruz, in a sudden blow, a norther, he became alarmed 
and ordered the guns thrown overboard. One of the old 
salts growled to himself : It would be luckiest for Uncle 
Sam just now if Captain Moore should accidentally blow 
overboard and leave the guns to fight the Mexicans with. 
The guns were not thrown over, for the sailing-master per- 
suaded the captain that the norther would be over in a day 
or two — and it was. 

The next, Captain Rudolph, from Charleston, was drowned 
at Charleston station. He was a slave owner, and as that 
was the style then he had his ebony table waiters dressed in 
uniform, with plenty of big brass buttons, and we fared well 
in the fo'castle in his day, for he was a generous-hearted man 
as well as a good officer. 

A curious old fellow was Captain Ottinger, who was said 
to be a Jew. One very amusing trait of language kept us 
sailors always in good humor, and that was, Let go ankwar, 
and in the same pompous tone, " In sail," meaning shorten 
sail. He indulged in many other queer orders. 

Captain Martin was what is called a martinet. He was 
always buzzing about like a bee, noisy everywhere, but 
giving very little trouble about ship, for he respected his 
mates and other officers, and they returned it with interest; 
so all went well. 

I remember Captain Faunce, who came from Plymouth 
Rock, Mass., and he now lives in Jersey City. He estab- 
lished the first life-saving stations, was a good seaman, and 
always a gentleman on board or on shore. On my last ship- 



CAPTAIN MARTIN. 



277 



ment in the Ewing he was in command, and made me 
bo'son. The first captain of the Ewing was Captain Bicker, 
but I never saw him. He commanded before my first ship- 
ment, but the sailors who sailed under him said he was an 
all-over good captain. 

And now to take up my log again — 

On. the 1st of December, 1846, my term of service having 




BALIZE PILOT. 



expired, I claimed my discharge, as one of the pilots of the 
association at the Balize. A former shipmate in the John 
G. Coster from China, when he was second mate, had 
induced me to join the pilots' association with a view of 
becoming a pilot. My duties at first consisted in my being 
one of the boat's crew engaged in putting pilots on board 
outward-bound ships, and afterward was promoted as boat- 
keeper of a pilot house, a schooner performing the same 



2, jS NEW ORLEANS. 

duties to inward-bounders. For this I received $25 a 
month and found. 

I remained in the service of the association for about 
six months, and then quit, as I could not reconcile myself 
to their constant dissipation — drunk day and night, and 
continually gambling. These very bad vices result in a 
great measure from a neglect of early education. In men 
who have a liking for reading and study, drinking and 
gambling have little or no attraction. Men must have some 
amusement, and cards are handy, easily carried about 
quickly learned, and, when one is inclined that way, readily 
adapted to gain money by many skillful tricks which deceive 
the eye and mislead the green opponent. It is not safe to trust 
any habitual gambler at cards. I soon made my way to 
New Orleans. One of the laborious occupations on the 
levee at that city is rolling the cotton bales up the stage 
and into the hold of the vessel, where they are pressed into 
place by great screws, so as to fill every foot of space 'tween 
decks and hold. By employing several negroes and work- 
ing myself very early and late, I was able to earn very good 
wages. But such work was soon monotonous, and lacking 
in the charm that belonged to life on board ship. The 
stevedore's lot is not to be envied in that city. I learned 
that an expedition was organized and equipped at New 
York and New Orleans having for its object the reduction 
of Vera Cruz and the Fortress of St. Juan de Ulloa. 

My old shipmate, Arthur Hider, of the Rome, Aigle, 
Ewifig, Lakes, and house of detention, N. Y., when I was 
a witness in the murder case on board the Niantic, had just 
arrived from a voyage, and had already shipped in the 
North Carolina, of Bath, Captain Drummond, with a regi- 
ment of regulars on board and a cargo of fresh water in 
cypress barrels. I therefore determined to ship in her. 

We sailed with orders to rendezvouz at the Lobos Islands, 
in the Gulf, north of Vera Cruz, some one hundred and 



280 VERA CRUZ. 

fifty miles, where was assembled a large fleet of ships and 
steamers of war, transports with troops, water, and surf- 
boats for landing troops, &c. 

We arrived at the Lobos Islands two days after leaving 
the S. W. pass. I had nearly forgotten to state that we lost 
a man overboard while lying at anchor in the river. While 
towing down the Mississippi, in my anchor watch, with a 
boy with me, with a marlin-spike I forced the store door 
open, rolled a barrel of apples, some hams, and a small 
firkin of butter, with other things, into the fo'castle. 

We had not lain at the Lobos Islands longer than a day 
or so when the ships composing the expedition were as- 
sembled, weighed and made sail to the southward, finally 
coming to under Sacrificios Anton Lizardo, Vera Cruz. 
The next morning was one of extreme activity and excite- 
ment, for as soon as day broke the whole fleet was alive 
with preparations for landing troops, field artillery, and mu- 
nitions of war, and it was a grand sight to see boat load 
after boat load of troops following each other to the shore. 
Nineteen thousand men were then landed on the sandy 
beach near the city, and were set to entrenching themselves 
and erecting batteries. The siege of Vera Cruz, San Juan 
de Ulloa, was commenced. 

Before leaving New Orleans I invested about five dollars 
in a keg of whisky containing ten gallons, and, on the 
night previous to the debarkation of the troops, it having 
been diluted to make forty gallons, I sold it at the rate of a 
dollar a glass, realizing the handsome sum of two thousand 
dollars. I have often thought that if all liquor dealers fix 
up their stock in that way there is no wonder why so many 
of them are rich. It is all profit to the seller — all loss to 
the drinker, except a little sop for his fancy now and then, 
and a superstition that somehow it is good for him. 

After the surrender of Vera Cruz and San Juan de Ulloa, 
about ten days after it was invested and bombarded and 



CAPTAIN DRUMMOND. 281 

our charter expired, we returned to New Orleans and were 
paid off. 

While being paid, and my turn had arrived to go into the 
cabin for that purpose, Captain Drummond addressed me 
thus : 

" Davis, do you expect to be paid off or to be sent to Baton 
Rouge, the Louisiana State prison ?" 




BATON ROUGE, LA. 



I asked him to explain, when he said : 

" You broke open the store-room on deck, and did so ana 
so (enumerating what I had appropriated) coming down the 
river." 

"Yes, ± openea a room containing ship's stores, and 
marked so, but have not touched the captain's private stores." 



252 CAPTAIN DRUMMOND. 

My answer settled the matter. The logic of facts was enough 
for him. 

It was with regret that I read this notice of the death of 
that good man and sailor, who, although he tried to send me 
to Baton Rouge so he could pocket my pay, yet I owe him 
no grudge and am glad of the opportunity of reprinting so 
much in his praise, for he deserved well of us all. 

"Captain Robert R. Drummond, the last of a line of 
veteran sea captains, and one of the best known sailing mas- 
ters in this port, died suddenly of heart disease on Monday 
night, at his residence in Brooklyn. He was born in Phipps- 
burg, Me., in 1825, and when he was but fifteen years old 
he went to sea with his uncle, Captain William Drummond, 
in the Rappahannock, the largest ship afloat in those days. 
He had been a sailor ever since, having been all over the 
world on voyages, but for over thirty years he confined him- 
self to the trade between New York and Cuba. For twenty- 
one years he sailed in one vessel, the R. W. Griffiths, be- 
tween those points. Twice he met with serious danger in 
her, the first time having to throw overboard a cargo of 
boilers and valuable machinery intended for a large estab- 
lishment in Cuba. Two years ago he lost his vessel by 
striking on a rock off the Bahamas, and his crew took refuge 
on a barren island for two days, when a vessel came by and 
rescued them. During the rebellion, when his vessel ran a 
double risk between the English privateers and Southern 
cruisers he came safely through by sailing under the Eng- 
lish flag. Captain Drummond's long experience and his rep- 
utation for coolness and bravery made him very highly 
esteemed by owners of vessels. In all his voyages he never 
lost a life.' 

A little adventure that took place after the capture of 
Vera Cruz will give some idea of what was going on gene- 
rally, as I suppose all over that city, while everything was 
topsy-turvy. Some of my shipmates suggested that we go 
into the town and see what was going on. I had my whisky 
money to care for, and hesitated, when a soldier came along 
and said that he and another were intent on looting a church. 
He had heard of great riches being stored in the cathedral 



CAPTAIN HUNT. 283 

of Vera Cruz, and had determined to have his share as soon 
as he could get it. We joined him and his comrade and 
made a party of four. On getting near the church we were 
charmed with its antique and rather odd style, or no style of 
architecture, and stood for some time a little way off gazing 
up at the front. This was an error in practice, for it col- 
lected a crowd of curious people, who suspected the build- 
ing was to be blown up. We went round to the rear and 
broke open a small door, entered, and fastened it on the in- 
side to keep out intruders. That term did not belong to us, 
but any one interfering with us would have been intruders 
We soon loaded up with as much as each could carry, with 
vestments, altar-cloths, rugs, candlesticks of gilt over brass, 
chalice, and a number of other things which we supposed 
could be converted into money somewhere. We did not get 
much for the articles. Every one we showed them to knew 
they had been stolen, or captured, which is about the same 
thing, and only offered about a quarter of their value. But 
the excitement and the supposed danger of the enterprise, 
and the feeling, when it was all over, that we had done some 
small part of the punishing of the Mexican enemy was better 
pay than money, at least for me. It never came into my 
head that we were committing a robbery, and as to the sacri- 
lege, that was not thought of by any of us. 

I took my half-dollars, "whisky money," to the ex- 
change office and exchanged them for gold, and then 
shipped on board the ship Louisiana, Captain Hunt, one of 
the regular packets between New York and New Orleans. 

In twenty-two days, with a very rough passage, we made 
fast to the wharf foot of Maiden lane, East river, and were 
paid off the next morning. Soon after I took my passage 
in a steamer for New London, for the purpose of obtaining 
what personal property I had left at the time we were 
ordered to the "battle ground " in the Gulf, and to draw 
some money I had deposited in the "Whaling Bank." I 



284 



CHICKEN THIEVES. 



then returned to New York, and shipped in the ship Union, 
Captain Hoyt, for New Orleans. She was also a regular 
packet plying between those two ports, and we made the pas- 
sage in seventeen days without anything of note occurring. 
I had been informed that money was to be made trading 
down the banks, coast as it is called, of the river with the 
negroes on the plantations, exchanging whisky, tobacco, 




CHICKEN THIEF. 

etc., for chickens, eggs, and money when it could be got. 
I concluded to try my luck in this trading speculation. I 
started with a cash capital (" all paid up," modernized), of 
eight hundred dollars, and purchased a sloop-rigged craft 
of four tons, decked with a nice cabin. The craft engaged 
in this "commercial enterprise" are styled "chicken 
thieves." I bought this "merchantman" for four hun- 




CUSTOM HOUSE, NEW ORLEANS. 



286 A NIGHT VISITOR. 

dred dollars, laid in a stock of good whisky, hams, cigars, 
crackers, and other articles too numerous to mention, and 
started down the coast, or the river, trading with the slaves. 
This business had to be conducted after nightfall (for the 
reason that the slaves were at work during the day, and 
the overseers on the qui vive), when my customers waded 
out to the boat with their produce on their heads. 

After disposing of my cargo, I proceeded to Barrataria; at 
the same time I disposed of my poultry and eggs to the 
shipping aground on the sou'west bar, and to the pilots, 
and also to the tow-boats. Arriving at Barrataria bay 
I reloaded my craft with oysters nearly a foot long, called 
"Raccoon oysters," and sold them in New Orleans readily 
at the rate of one dollar a barrel. The time from Barrataria 
to New Orleans occupied generally about two days and 
part of two nights, the distance being about one hundred 
and twenty miles. 

I continued at this business about three months, when 
one night, as I was lying at anchor off a place called the 
" English Turn," a little below New Orleans, trading with 
the slaves, two overseers, discovering what business I was 
engaged in, came down to the levee, and fired at me 
with their shot guns, but without taking effect. I thought 
then I would quit this nefarious business after this voyage, 
and, after receiving their fire, hauled up my anchor im- 
mediately, and, dropping out of reach, made sail down the 
river, stopping at various plantations. When I had dis- 
posed of all my cargo, I took in a load of oysters at Barra- 
taria and sailed up to New Orleans. 

During my voyage back to New Orleans I was lying at 
anchor one night at some little distance above the head of 
the passes, when I felt my little craft careen over. I jumped 
out of my berth, and, looking through a small hole in my 
cabin door, beheld an enormous alligator with his short 
forelegs on the deck, his snout stretched across sniffing 



CAPTAIN MILLIARD 287 

and smelling to see what there was for supper. I had a 
pair of large horse-pistols always loaded at hand, and, aim- 
ing through the aforesaid hole for his eye, sent a ball 
crashing into his brain. The way he sculled for the shore, 
crying like a child, was a caution. They always make for 
the shore when wounded and never die in the water. 

Arriving at New Orleans, I disposed of my schooner for 
one hundred and seven-five dollars, and, disgusted with the 
business which left me a loser of about four hundred dollars, 
I shipped on board of the hermaphrodite brig Long Island, 
bound for New York, making the passage in fourteen days. 

But as I was fond of New Orleans and its inhabitants, 
and at home with the French and Spanish Creoles, with 
whose patois I was conversant, I determined to make 
another voyage, and accordingly shipped in a small vessel 
called the Auburn, Captain Durfee, also a regular packet 
between New Orleans and New York. Arrived at New 
Orleans, we discharged and loaded in less than a week, 
and returned to New York, making the full voyage out and 
home in less than seven weeks. 

I again shipped for New Orleans, this time as second 
mate of the ship Arkansas, Captain Hilliard. He was the 
sole survivor, if I remember right, of the steamer Lexington, 
burnt on Long Island sound in 1838, and who saved him- 
self by swimming on a cotton bale, on which he endured 
the fearful exposure of a winter's day and night. 

Besides her cargo, the Arkansas had a large number of 
both cabin and steerage passengers, among the latter of 
whom I was a general favorite, and in consequence never 
short of a drink ; indeed, so profuse were they in their 
offerings, that on several occasions I was somewhat the 
worse for my potations, which, being noticed by the first 
officer, he at last reproved me. This so worked upon my 
feelings that I determined to leave the ship, and as soon 



288 LOBSCOUSE. 

as we struck the dock at New Orleans, I jumped ashore 
and left, sans ceremonie. 

I have often listened to the names of the different dishes 
in a restaurant, and mentally contrasted them with the 
terms used on shipboard, and now propose to give a few of 
the sailor's names for the food that is supplied to them. 

Webster's Dictionary defines lobscouse as a hash of meat 
and various vegetables: an olio. An olio is a mixture, a 
medley. Mr. Webster was a very learned man, but he did 
not quite correctly describe lobscouse, which, being a 
marine mystery, may have been beyond his limit of investi- 
gation. A sub-genus prevails in jails and lockups, but it is 
not worth mention here. The true lobscouse is compounded 
of salt horse and spuds, or yams, stewed and hashed. 
Onions or other vegetables are traditionally included, but 
practically omitted. When scouse is made without either 
meat or potatoes (salt horse or spuds) it is called dandy- 
funk. 

And as to Webster, which is a great name in American 
history, I may be permitted to repeat a doleful eulogy that 
was recited by an old shipmate from Marblehead, near 
Boston. He said, " It is a matter of great wonder that 
Webster, who was always so busy in public affairs, could 
find time to write such an immense dictionary, and a 
thousand pities that he should have been hanged for killing 
such an old skin-flint as that Dr. Parkman was." Anyhow, 
the remark showed the kind heart of the old sailor, and I 
doubt he ever found out there were three of that name, the 
statesman, the lexicographer, and the unfortunate doctor, 
who, in a fit of desperation struck his tormentor a heavier 
blow than he intended and was sentenced to be hanged. 
There was so much said and written about his having been 
spirited away and another body substituted at the execution, 
that it was never determined if he was hanged or not. 

There are other terms in common use in the cabin and 



VARIOUS NAMES. 289 

cook's galley. Flour, water, salt, and fat from cooked beef 
is called duff. Griddle cakes are flapjacks; biscuits are 
sea-cake. They are kept in a bread-barge, a small box, 
say two feet long by fifteen inches in breadth and depth, 
with a hole near one end of a side large enough to admit a 
hand and take out one. When the sailor in the fo'castle 
asks for a sea-cake one or two biscuits are taken out of 
the barge and pitched at him, and he catches wih his hands 
or his nose, as the case may be. When the barge is empty 
some one calls out to the youngest of the watch, " There's 
a southerly wind in the bread barge," and the barge is 
taken to the cook's galley and stowed afresh. Potatoes are 
spuds, rice is swampseed, beans are tornadoes, snappers or 
band of music, and bean soup is snapper soup. Bread 
crumbs and other broken victuals from the cabin table are 
manavelins Beef is generally salt-horse, at least in my day 
what appeared in the fo'castle, had earned its dignity 
after several long voyages at sea. Pork was grunter, and 
mutton, when we had any, was simply mutton. Fish are 
moonstruck. Codfish and potatoes were twice-laid, and the 
sailors had to spit out such bones as they'd rather not swallow. 
The codfish was kept in two chests, one on each side of the 
mizzen top, and samples were brought down when wanted by 
the steward. Pot-pie is sea-pie, molasses leather-strap or 
black-strap. We never saw any sugar in the fo'castle, that 
dainty being entirely confined to the land of knives and 
forks, the cabin. The cook is always called doctor. When 
eight bells are struck the youngest in the watch goes to the 
cook's galley and gets a kid of salt horse and a kid of 
swampseed or snapper-soup, and a tin pot of black-strop, 
with the bread barge, which together form the sumptuous 
repast of Jack before the mast. In fine weather the sailors 
eat on deck, and literally the deck is their table, and they 
furnish their own tin plate, spoon, sheath-knife, and coffee- 
pot. In a man-of-war sheath-knives are prohibited. When 



290 BAGDAD. 

a cow, pigs, sheep, chickens, and other live-stock were carried 
the sailor who took care of them was called " Jimmy Ducks." 
No milk, chickens, or other fine grub ever appeared in the 
fo'castle unless surreptitiously. Occasionally some memjper 
of the watch on deck in the night would try his hooks on the 
duds (milk the cow), by way of proving that he had not for- 
gotten his farm lessons ashore, but as chickens can be counted 
at least after they are hatched, and there were no weasels or 
skunks to charge the theft to, and the rats never came on 
deck, so from a sort of necessity the coop was not disturbed 
against orders. Necessity of various kinds on shore as well 
as on board assists very much in promoting honesty and 
virtue, although too much will usually work a contrary 
result. 

I shipped on board of a large schooner bound to the Rio 
Grande with stores for the quartermaster's department of 
the army. We arrived at Bagdad in due course, and hear- 
ing that very high wages for deck hands on board the 
government steamers were being offered, I resolved to 
desert the schooner. 

Always bearing in mind (as my readers may remember I 
mentioned in an early part of the book) " that caution is the 
mother of safety," I made fast a rope about one foot from 
the deck, and, stretching it across just for'ard of the cabin 
door, made it taut on the other side, so that any one coming 
out in the dark in a hurry, would be sure to trip over it; 
having taken this precaution in case the noise I might 
make in dropping overboard should bring the officers on 
deck, when they would undoubtedly have made a target of 
me. I secured a piece of plank to my breast and a bag of 
clothes on my back, and then, letting myself as quietly as I 
could overboard, swam ashore to an adobe hut occupied by 
an old Mexican who kept me concealed till next morning. 
At day-break I engaged on the steamer Col. Cross, lying 
alongside the wharf, and was directed by the engineer to con- 



CAMARGO. 



291 



ceal myself in the engine-room on deck, from which safe re- 
treat I had the satisfaction of viewing the captain and mate 
of the schooner from which I had deserted, making a fruit- 
less search for me, each having a loaded pistol. 

The steamer Col. Cross was employed running up to 
Camargo with recruits and munitions of war and stores. 

We had made two trips to Camargo and back, when one 
night, lying at Bagdad, and a norther blowing, the steamer's 
carpenter, a German, came to me and proposed that I should 
join him in making a haul of a large sum of money which he 
said the mate kept in a chest in his state-room on the boder 
deck. This mate was an inveterate gambler, and the scheme 
was to the effect that when he went ashore to play monte, 
his room should be broken open and the money taken. The 
carpenter offered to supply me with the necessary tools and 
a large spike to open the door, for the mate always took the 
knob out of the door when going ashore. I offered some 
excuse, and the carpenter said he would do the job himself, 
but I must not blow on him. So in the night when the 
mate had gone ashore, he pried open the door, opened the 
trunks and ransacked everywhere, but found no money. The 
carpenter was greatly disappointed, and said some one else 
must have been ahead of him and carried off the treasure. The 
next morning, while we were washing decks, the mate, infu- 
riated at having found his state-room and trunk broken into, 
and his things rummaged promiscuously, rushed round the 
decks like a madman with a cocked pistol in his hand, and 
swore if he only knew who had been in his room he would 
blow his brains out. That night I left the boat, unknown to a 
single soul, for I felt convinced that the carpenter would re- 
veal the secret, and then my skin would not be worth a cent 
to me, because I had not warned the mate against the mis- 
chief. I walked through a wild and desolate country, covered 
with chapparel, to Point Isabel, where I got a chance to 
work my passage to New Orleans in a small schooner, and I 



292 



JASPER. 



considered myself fortunate to arrive without any holes in 
my carcass, after a passage of six days. 

Considering that I had had enough for a time of romanc- 




FLORIDA FRUITS. 



ing in the sunny South I shipped in the brig Jasper, Captain 
Moran, for New York, with molasses in barrels, and sugar, 
and back to New Orleans. We made the entire voyage 
in a little less than two months. Nothing material occurred 



TAMPICO. 



2 93 



on this voyage, neither did I get into any more scrapes. 
Although a little personal excitement is very good in its 
way, yet it does not do to be always in hot water, and I 
imagine that I had experienced my full share of that. 

On our return to the " Crescent City" I next shipped 
mate of the brig Texas, Captain Golden, for Tampico, on 
the Gulf coast of Mexico, with small bales of cotton for 
carriage on pack mules. 

We had very fine weather till we came to off Tampico 
bar, with a slip on our cable. We had not finished 
furling sails when we were struck in a moment by a terrific 
"norther," and had to slip our cable in a hurry and 
scud before its fury under bare poles, until we could get 
p.n aftersail on to her, and heave her to the wind. We rode 
the larboard tack for nearly a week. During this time I 
suffered the torments of the damned in consequence of an 
awful felon on the middle finger of my right hand, and had 
to write up my log with my left, as well as I could, and when 
the crew were engaged making and shortening sail I had to 
take the wheel, being able to steer with my left hand only. 
After having been blown some one hundred and eighty miles 
to the east'ard, and from the Gulf coast the " norther" mod- 
erated, and by degrees shifted to a pleasant easterly breeze, 
when we made all sail, which soon enabled us to make Tam- 
pico bar again, and luckily picked up our mud-hook. We 
procured the services of a very small tug-boat, and were 
towed up a narrow passage to Tampico. The banks of this 
passage were thickly wooded with banana and plantain 
trees, which grew down to the water's edge, and, leaning over 
to the centre, intermingled their branches, forming a com- 
plete arch which greatly impeded our progress, so that we 
had to send men aloft to cut our way through. 

We discharged our cargo into the lighters, and then re- 
turned in ballast to New Orleans, making the passage in nine 
days, the round voyage occupying two months. 



REFORM HABITS. 295 

I was compelled to enter the Charity Hospital as a patient, 
the felon on my finger had become so painful and serious 
that medical treatment was necessary. During the first 
night in hospital so many of the patients died around me 
that I was scared, and suddenly took French leave in the 
early morning. I betook myself to a friend's house, a steve- 
dore by the name of Philips, with whom I resided until the 
felon got entirely well. Then Mr. Philips gave me a jo^ 
rolling cotton on the levee and on the stage into the ship 
I worked at this for about two months, sometimes earning 
as much as ten dollars a day, always two working together, 
and frequently rolling two hundred bales of cotton at a bit 
(twelve and a half cents) a bale. 

Contracting habits of whisky drinking, which beginn/.ng; 
to tell on my constitution, I determined to go to sea again as 
a means of reform, and accordingly shipped before the mast 
in the ship Louisa, Captain Emerson, for New York, making 
the passage in fourteen days. 

In the 'tween decks of the Louisa were a large number of 
trunks, valises and traveling bags, and all kinds of personal 
effects which had belonged to the victims of the yellow fever, 
and the epidemic was then prevailng in New Orleans. The 
crew broke open and ransacked the trunks, etc., and appro- 
priated what valuables they could lay their hands on and 
stow away in a small compass. By this many of them 
became the unlawful possessors of very valuable jewelry and 
precious stones, besides some good second-hand clothing 
and other articles, and all ran the risk of a visit from "yellow 
jack." 

While writing about the hospital in New Orleans, I cannot 
refrain from mentioning the home provided for disabled 
seamen called the " Sailors' Snug Harbor," on Staten Island, 
New York. An aged, decrepid and worn out sailor is re- 
ceived, if the applicant has served five years under the flag 
of the United States, either in the navy or merchant service, 



296 



SAILORS SNUG HARBOR. 



and if he has no contagious disease, and if he will further 
agree to adopt total abstinence from alcohol, and obey the 
rules of the institution as to dress, habits, and other social 
matters. I have visited it many times, and have among its 
inmates several old-time shipmates. As you pass into the 
carriage gate you will likely see in its keeper Lieutenant 
Stull, an old seaman, seventy-nine years old, whose father 




sailors' snug harbor — 1850. 



was once wealthy, owning a plantation and many slaves on 
the ground where the battle of Antietam was fought, but 
who was stripped clean to the bone before he died. Lieu- 
tenant Stull was and is a fine specimen of a man in stature 
and countenance, and his fittings within are equal to the 
external rigging. 



SAILORS SNUG HARBOR. 



297 



Captain De Peyster, who commanded the Columbus when 
I made the acquaintance of those sea-dogs Cornish and 
Huntington, was the second governor of the Sailors' Snug 
Harbor. In those days the governor handled all the money 
required to run the institution. He committed suicide, as 
is supposed, although I cannot believe it, in 1866. One of 
my mates in the Gazelle was an inmate until he died in 




sailors' snug harbor — 1887. 



1885. Isaac Dixon, now there, was with me in the revenue 
cutter Swing. He was a native of Durham, in England, 
and of Quaker parents. 

Many faces that were familiar a few years since have dis- 
appeared, and now, although I know many who are there, it 
is from frequent visits to the place, which is a paradise in 
its way. One absent one deserves mention for the bit of 



29o SAILOR-S SNUG HARBOR. 

romance in his log. John Potter was a native of Dantzic, 
Germany, and was quartermaster on the Ewing when I 
sailed in her. He left the revenue service, and went as 
quartermaster in coastwise steamers running to southern 
ports until his health failed, when he turned up one day and 
I invited him to make my house his home, and we messed 
together again for four years, this time on dry land. He 
died in the Sailors' Snug Harbor, and left a will in my 
favor. He told me that after being away from home fifty 
years he returned to Dantzic, and found that his sister had 
died while he was on board in the stream just before land- 
ing. No other member of his family was alive. 

The library and reading room is a haven of rest and 
recreation, where those inclined may revisit those ports 
which they have frequented in actual life, and live over 
again in imagination their earlier years. In the halls below, 
or in rooms set apart, any one of them may be busy making 
hammocks, small baskets, and other things which can be 
sold for money. 




TEMPLE BAR, LONDON. 



Chapter XIII. 



" * * * O, I have suffered 

With those that I saw suffer ; a brave vessel, 
Which had no doubt some noble creature in her, 
Dash'd all to pieces. O, the cry did knock 
Against my very heart ! Poor souls ! they perished. 
Had I been any God of power, I would 
Have sunk the sea within the earth, or e'er 
It should the good ship so have swallowed, and 
The fraughting souls within her." 

Shipping a second time in the Auburn under the com- 
mand of Captain Hoyt, we had a fair passage to New 
Orleans; discharged cargo, and received a return cargo of 
sugar, molasses, and some cotton 'tween decks; cast off, and 
were towed down with many other vessels by the Mary 
Ringsldnd (tow-boat) outside the sou'west pass and to sea. 
We had a succession of fair but boisterous winds generally, 
and until we reached the vicinity of Cape Hatteras were 
congratulating ourselves on a speedy arrival in New York, 
but " man proposes and God disposes." 

On the 19th March, 1847, at daybreak, we were to the 
nor'ard of the Capes of the Delaware, running parallel with 
the Jersey coast, with the wind at west nor'west, when 
suddenly the wind died away and came round to east nor'- 
east, increasing every moment until we were nearly up to 
Barnegat, by which time we were under close-reefed top- 
sails, reefed foresail and fore-topmast staysail. On the 
starboard tack, the gale still increasing in force, and carry- 
ing on a press of sail in the vain effort to claw off, with the 
lee sail almost under water, we were forced to take the fore 
and mizzen topsails off the ship. Then the wind hauled to 
the south'ard and east'ward, about sou'east, with a fresh 
hand on the bellows, and suddenly, with a deafening roar, 
away went our maintop-sail clean out of the bolt-ropes. We 
were embayed, and, in spite of the most strenuous efforts to 



300 THE ANGEL OF DEATH. 

set the mizzen-top sail, no sooner was it clear of the gaskets 
and the lee clue partly sheeted home, than it gave a slat and 
flew into ribbons. Every resource of seamanship was ex- 
hausted, and we were finally driven on the outer bar off 
Barnegat. The immense seas made a clean sweep over 
our decks, one more heavy than another sweeping our 
captain with nineteen passengers into a watery grave, while 
we were helpless to save them from their fate. 

" For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast." 

We managed to launch the largest boat next to the long- 
boat, into which the second mate, six of the crew and my- 
self succeeded in getting a stout line, for the purpose of 
carrying it ashore to haul a hawser by it to the land, and 
make it fast to something, to safe life by making a boat- 
swain's chair, but the boat in going through the breakers 
was unfortunately capsized in the surf, and all perished 
except the second mate and myself. When the boat got 
broadside to, and I saw that she must go over, I remem- 
bered, from my experienced with the surf-boats on the coast 
of Sumatra, that the only chance of getting clear was by 
jumping from the higher gunwale of the boat as she was 
going bottom up, thus to avoid being covered, and conse- 
quently suffocated and drowned. The second mate fol- 
lowed my example, and shared my luck. Thus, out of 
forty-four souls that left New Orleans in the Auburn, only 
the second mate and myself were saved. 

" Then breathless, with my digging nails I clung 
Fast to the sand, lest the returning wave, 
From whose reluctant roar my life I wrung, 
Should suck me back to her insatiate grave : 
With just enough of life to feel its pain, 
And deem that it was saved, perhaps in vain. 
With slow and staggering effort I arose, 
But sunk again upon my bleeding knee 
And quivering hand : and then I looked for those 
Who long had been my mates upon the sea ; 
But none of them appeared to share my woes, 
Save one." 

I was cast unconscious on the strand, and when I re- 
covered consciousness found that my belt containing three 



THE EWING. 



301 



hundred dollars in gold was gone, and a gold watch also. 
These had probably been taken off me by the land pirates, 
or wreckers, who, at that time, were very numerous on the 
coast. The Auburn became of course a complete wreck. 

I reached New York, after a fashion, somehow, " a bat- 
tered hulk " with only what I stood in, but fortunately I still 
had some money in the savings' bank, and soon refitted 
myself with clothing. 

I found that my old favorite the revenue schooner Ewing 
had returned from the seat of war, and was stationed at New 
York for the protection of the revenue, and, like many a 
truant lover, I returned to my old love and shipped in her 
for the third time. 

I was going across Hamilton ferry to Brooklyn for the 
purpose of signalling the Ewing when I met Captain Mar- 
tin, her captain, on the ferry-boat, the same officer with 
whom I had words in T843. I asked him if he was short of 
men. He immediately said, " Go aboard of the Ewing at 
once." 

I had not been attached to her more than a week when 
the boatswain, who happened to be Bill Austin, the man 
who had endeavored to stab me six years previously, when 
I first belonged to the Ewing, absented himself beyond his 
leave on a drunken spree, and I was promoted as boatswain 
in his place. 

Being a trifle higher in station than a seaman, I conceived 
the idea that " it is cheaper to keep a cow than to be always 
buying milk," and resolved to marry or, nautice — " get 
spliced in a long splice." As it has always been with me, 
to think is to act, I took unto me a wife for better or 
worse, and together we are now finishing life's cruise in 
company. 

I could fill up a big log book with the many jokes and 
gibes that were flung at me when my shipmates found out 
that I was going for a voyage on the sea of matrimony, but 



302 IN AN OMNIBUS 

as many of them were such side-splitting tales, with a big 
nut to them, I should utterly fail if I tried to repeat them. 
Then everyone knows that a good joke, like champagne, is 
best when it is first popped off. However, there was one 
worth repeating that was spun as a sort of warning to me 
and by one of my messmates, and he was not particular as to 
how many others should hear it. This is how he reeled it off: 

Ben Barney and I were on a cruise uptown in a Madison 
avenue 'bus, and we struck a regular hurricane. Ben, wish- 
ing to show how very polite he could be, offered to pass up 
the fare of a lady who sat near the door, and, without 
looking at the money, dropped it into the locker— the cash 
box. The lady fairly screamed at Ben, " I gave you a quarter, 
sir ;" and she withered him with an acid smile and a fiery 
glance through her gold-bowed glasses. Ben jumped up to 
look in the cash box just in time to see the quarter slide into 
the hold through the scuttle. He fairly blushed scarlet and 
crimson, and stammered out that he thought the money was 
all right, and was not much used to the ways of the 'busses, 
and hoped the driver would make it right. So he hammered 
on the roof and asked the driver for twenty cents in change. 
The driver chaffed him by saying that he was not a mil- 
lionaire, and could not afford to give him twenty cents for 
nothing, and he did not see how he could be expected to 
get down into the box and heave out the quarter. If the 
passenger wanted the change she should go to the office and 
get it. 

Ben was angry at the driver, and said, " Blast your eyes, 
if you are so mean as that I'll pay for my mistake," and he 
poked about in his pockets for change. 

While he was busy searching in one pocket or another, 
the lady looked a picture of injured innocence, and piped 
to another lady passenger, in a bitter tone of voice, " Do 
you think, really, that the old fellow who took my quarter is 
in any way connected with the company ?" 



IN AN OMNIBUS. 303 

Ben heard the remark, as all the others did, and he an- 
swered in great confusion, " Me, lady, bless you, I don't 
belong on land. I'll pay back your money. But I can't 
find a cent." 

He looked at me, but I shook my head as much as to say 
I have no cash, and he finally pulled out a memorandum 
book, saying : 

" Lady, please give me your name and address, and as 
soon as I return to my ship I will lay in a fresh supply of 
cash and return your twenty cents this very evening." 

" Oh, never mind," she said, in a mincing way, "it teaches 
me a lesson. Hereafter I will pay my fare myself." 

" Oh, I'll bring the change, lady; you can be sure of that. 
I just happen to be at the end of my purse Been out all 
the morning, and made a number of calls. What's the 
name, please ?" He laid his memorandum book on his 
knee and held his pencil ready to write, but she said : 

" Yes, I dare say you intend to ; but never mind ; let it go. 
It's all right. I've learned a lesson. I'll pay my own fare 
hereafter." 

She repeated the words several times, looking at the other 
passengers, and seemed to delight in giving a varied em- 
phasis each time. I wondered if she had not been a school- 
ma'am some time or other. She settled down in the seat 
with an air of resignation, as much as to say she knew she 
was swindled, but was resigned. Ben asked again in a 
pleading way for her name, and seeing that some of the 
ladies seemed to feel for the old sailor, she snapped it out, 
but with a streamer at the end, that she had learned a 
lesson. 

When Ben had written her name and address he took 
courage and said, "I'm ready to make all amends, and you 
shall have your money, but I have also learned a lesson. 
While I am not saying what it is so much, I've got it all the 
same." 



304 THANK YOU, MISS. 

Just then a very pretty young woman, whose eyes sparkled 
with suppressed mirth under her dark bangs, spoke to Ben, 
and said: 

" I'll tell you, sir, what to do. We'll collect the fares 
that come into the coach until the twenty cents is made up, 
and that will save you further trouble." 

Ben took off his hat to the young women, and said, 
" Many thanks, miss. I'm a thousand times obliged to you 
for the suggestion." 

At that instant a well-dressed woman climbed in, and as 
she was taking out her money the young woman explained 
to her what had happened with the quarter, and the lady 
replied, " Oh certainly," and five cents went into the hands 
of the lady with spectacles and an acid smile. It was but a 
minute or two before enough money had been taken, and 
the twenty cents was safe in the purse of the much injured 
woman. Then she got out without a word or a look even 
to any one. 

As soon as she was beyond ear-shot, Ben said, after 
drawing a long breath, " That wor a stress of weather. I 
didn't go to do it, but I'd got her money to her this very 
night. I didn't tell her the lesson I learned, but I hope 
she'll remember the one she learned." 

There was a laugh among those who had seen the thing 
from the start. Then the young'woman who helped Ben 
out of the difficulty rose to go out, and as she passed she 
smiled a good-bye to him, and he took off his hat, and said, 
" Thank you, miss. Merry Christmas to you, miss." Then, 
after seeing her on the sidewalk, he said, looking over to 
me, " What a difference there is atwixt women. Wonderful, 
ain't it ?" 

In October, 1848, the Eivivg was transferred from the 
revenue to the naval service, in order that she might pro- 
ceed to the coast of California for the purpose of surveying 



WHITEWASH. 305 

and establishing lights, custom houses, and many other 
governmental duties. 

Captain Bartlett was commissioned to command the 
Ewing, and he offered me extra pay, which he would give 
from his private purse, if I would remain in her. He 
wished me to remain in her with him, as I, having sailed 
so many years in the Ewing, understood how she should be 
handled in all weathers. I had, however, been married 
but a few months, and did not relish the idea of parting 
with my better-half so soon, and going away and leave her 
for such a long and perilous voyage around Cape Horn to 
the cost of California. I therefore declined his offer, 
although, at the same time, I was loth to let her sail with- 
out me, for I had passed many a jovial hour aboard of her, 
and knew her so well, that she seemed almost like an old 
friend. 

I had almost forgotten to relate that, when on board the 
Ewing in 1842, and lying in New York harbor, the British 
frigate War spite arrived with Lord Ashburton, to negotiate 
the extradition treaty between the United States and the 
British possessions in North America and the West Indies; 
and, indeed, in the whole Avorld, I think. Well, while the 
Warspite was lying moored in the North river off the 
Battery, a large party of North river boatmen (it was sup- 
posed) whitewashed the Warspite all round. As may be 
supposed, his lordship was immensely enraged at what he 
considered a great outrage and insult, but although he 
offered the large reward of $25,000 out of his private purse, 
the perpetrators were never discovered. The indignity 
lately imposed on a British man-of-war in New York harbor 
by " Captain " Paul Boyton, the renowned swimmer in rub- 
ber water-tight clothes, was also the cause of a commotion 
among the English officers on board. But practical jokes 
are jokes, and ought not to be considered criminal. The 
whitewash and Boyton's dummy torpedo are " a pair of 



306 MUTINY. 

'em." Another circumstance worthy of passing note in con- 
nection with the time of my belonging to the Ewing in 
1842 is recalled. 

One morning early at daybreak, and in my anchor watch 
on board of the Ewitig, the U. S. brig-of-war Somers 
arrived, and came to in the East river off the foot of Wall 
street. She had come into port just after the execution of 
three on board of her, viz.: the bo'son's mate, a seaman, and 
a midshipman (the last named being a son of Secretary of 
the Navy Upshur), who had conspired together to murder 
the officers, take possession of the vessel, and cruise in the 
tracks of the packet ships plying between Europe and 
America, make them their prey, and, following the maxim 
that " dead men tell no tales," put all to death by making 
them walk the plank. The plot was discovered by one of 
the conspirators accidentally dropping the written and signed 
agreement out of his pocket while at work, which was picked 
up by one of the commissioned officers. 

In the same year of the historical Yankee trick of white- 
washing the British frigate Warspite, the United States 
Government authorized Colonel Colt, of revolver fame, to 
experiment with an explosive to be fired by electricity, and 
assigned an old hulk of astoreship, just returned from Wilkes' 
exploring expedition, for that purpose, and she was moored 
between Castle Garden and Bedloe's Island, where the 
Bartholdi statue of liberty now stands. I was one of the 
boat's crew detailed to carry the apparatus to and fix it upon 
the side of the hulk. It was about the size and shape of a 
half barrel, and may have weighed one hundred and fifty 
pounds. We fixed it to the side of the vessel with screws, 
and returned to the deck of the Ewing in time to see 
Colonel Colt operate his apparatus. He stood on the star- 
board side of the trunk, and I was opposite him on the port 
side, when he took a wire in each hand, and, looking toward the 
hulk, said, " Now, gentlemen, notice the result," and at that 



AN ACCIDENT. 307 

moment he touched the ends of the wires together ; at 
the same instant the old hulk seemed to rise up high in the 
air and carry a vast sea of spray and water with her. She 
was torn into fragments. 

In the autumn following, a boat's crew was ordered to 
go up the East river on a tour of observation in the second 
cutter, of which I was coxswain. The Ewing lay in the 
Buttermilk channel, and the suspected schooners that were 
reported as having no names painted on the stern, as the 
law directs, were said to be near the south end of Blackweli's 
Island. The flood tide was running up the river at a race- 
horse speed, and the wind was dead ahead, which made a 
terribly choppy sea. We were cruising about as ordered 
when the cutter was thrown upon a spile near the end of the 
dock, and a large hole was stove in her bottom under the 
bow. Seeing her filling rapidly, I ordered the crew to take 
off their monkey-jackets, and, rolling them into a big wad, 
stopped the leak so well that one man could bail out the 
little water that came in, and we pulled back to the Ewing 
half frozen, for it was bitter cold and we were very wet. 

As I was reading the proof of this passage I noticed 
in the Guardian, of Manchester, N. H., that Mr. James W. 
Pettigrew had received a pension for services in the Mexican 
war. He was a shipmate with me in the Ewing, and was on 
board when she sailed from New London, Connecticut, in 
1846, for the seat of war in the Gulf. He was made bo'son, 
and was a very able seaman, a good genial companion and 
hearty messmate. Another shipmate on the Ewing was 
John G. Brushwood, a native of Virginia, who was promoted 
to first lieutenant while we were off A r era Cruz. He was an 
unjust man in many respects, and had once been kicked out 
of the service for cheating the men beneath him of their 
salary. He used to receive the money due the men from 
Washington, and, when he paid them, kept part of their 
earnings for himself. Through powerful influence he again 



3o8 JOHN G. BRUSHWOOD. 

entered the naval service, and was promoted as above stated. 
At the commencement of the civil war he was stationed at 
New Orleans and was in command of a steam cutter. At 
the first sign of hostilities he hauled down the stars and 
stripes and delivered the vessel over to the Confederate au- 
thorities. For this act of perfidy he received an appointment 
as captain in the rebel forces. I suppose he thought, as did 
General Robert E. Lee, that his native State was first entitled 
to his allegiance before the United States. 

To return from my digression. The revenue cutter For- 
ward was ordered from the Delaware station to relieve us, 
and remained on the New York station the whole of that 
winter, '4.8-49. She was an extra fast sailer, and very wet. 
In May, '49, we were relieved by the cutter Gallatin, and 
the Forward returned to her old station. 

The Gallatin was one of the old style revenue cutters, 
and entirely unfit for the duties required of her. Therefore, 
a new vessel was ordered to the New York station, and we 
were ordered with the Gallatin to Wilmington, Delaware, 
and delivered to the collector of customs. The non-com- 
missioned officers and crew were dismissed the service and 
paid off, the majority returning to New York. 

The crews of the revenue cutters were composed of men of 
all nationalities, but the officers were nearly always Ameri- 
can born citizens, who had large experience in the coasting 
trade. Every duty on board the revenue cutters was per- 
formed as nearly as possible in man-of-war style, and the 
officers were subject to nearly the same regulations as in the 
United States Navy. 

On my dismissal from the revenue service at Wilmington 
I returned to my home in Brooklyn, N. Y., for, being now a 
married man, I had something better to look forward to 
than sailors' boarding houses. Still, my tastes were not yet 
softened down sufficiently to reconcile myself to a life 
ashore, or to be one of those " landsmen who lie down 



fSSfh ..mi 




31° REVENUE CUTTER. 

below." I accordingly cast about for another ship, and was 
soon engaged as seaman on board of a steamer bound for 
Cuba, which was lying and fitting out at one of the docks 
in Jersey City. I, with the rest of the crew, consisting of 
nine seamen, were engaged in getting her ready for sea, 
and had been so employed for two weeks, when lighters 
came alongside with her cargo of heavy goods in large 
cases, which I immediately divined to consist of arms and 
munitions of war. Although every precaution was resorted 
to in order to allay any suspicion regarding the nature of 
the projected voyage, yet the United States authorities must 
have got some information, for, after we were fully loaded 
and ready for sea, and pilot engaged, the steamer was 
seized by the U. S. Marshal. She was doubtless engaged 
as a part of the Lopez expedition organized for the invasion 
of Cuba, and so our voyage was nipped in the bud and 
came to naught. 

One of the resorts of the crews of outfitting vessels on 
the east side was an old Dutch tavern in Peck Slip, where all 
sorts of liquid or other refreshments were served for cash, 
and a good de;il of that commodity was handed over its 
bar not a little of which once belonged in my pocket. 

In looking about for another ship I finally shipped in the 
Matilda, Captain Land, bound on a trading voyage to the 
coast and Gulf of California, and to call at Mazatlan, San 
Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey and other minor ports, 
wherever we could make a good swap, exchanging American 
goods and Yankee notions for hides, copper, lead, &c. 

On my birthday, the 17th June, 1849, I sailed on this my 
first voyage round Cape Horn, with a full complement of 
crew and plenty of stores on board, spars and water-casks 
securely lashed, with a pilot on board, tug alongside, fasts 
singled, orders received, and top -sails mast-headed; at the 
word, we let go, and with the first of the ebb-tide, and a 
gentle nor' wester, and the jib set as she swung head down 



312 GULF STREAM. 

stream, we passed Fort Columbus on Governor's Island, 
pointed for the " Narrows," and then for the broad Atlantic. 

Crossing the bar, and reaching the light-ship, the tug was 
let go, and the pilot left us. We made all sail, including all 
stun'sails alow and aloft both sides, wind about as dead 
aft as you could get it, stowed and double-lashed anchors, 
after securing the boats and every movable about decks 
which had not been secured by the riggers alongside of the 
wharf. By this time we were out of sight of land, and ap- 
proaching the westerly edge of the Gulf stream. The 
weather then began to look squally, and the wind to veer to 
the nor'ard, so we hauled in all stun'sails, rigged in the 
booms and unrove the gear. The easterly horizon assumed 
a leaden hue, the wind finally settled in the nor'east and 
began to pipe. Then we furled royals and sent down the 
yards, hauled down the flying-jib and stowed it. The wind 
increasing in force, we took in to'gallant sails. Watch now 
close-reefed the mizen-top-sail, brailed the spanker up and 
secured the foot of the sail. At midnight the gale began 
to moderate with rain, and veered more to the south'ard. 
At daybreak we shook out the reefs in the mizen-top-sail 
and set the spanker. At seven bells set to'gallant sails, and 
all hands on deck ; at eight bells tacked ship, wind sou 'west, 
ship going two points free on the starboard tack, we sent up 
royal yards and set the sails, with the flying jib, rigged 
out the starboard top-mast, and to'gallant stun'sail booms 
fore and main, and set the sails. The reader will see that in 
such threatening weather, and changing winds, there was 
heavy work for Jack aloft. 

As we neared the tropics, the regions of the trade winds, 
the weather grew more balmy and settled. The crew dis- 
carded their woolens and substituted such as they had 
of jumpers and hip-trousers made of some old sail or of 
old canvas appropriated from a former ship. Thus appareled 
in rigs suitable to tropical weather, we were then approach- 



DOLDRUMS. 



313 



ing the abode of the never-failing, but ever-to-be-found, Dol- 
drums or Horse Latitudes. 

The fine westerly breezes at length became unsteady and 
fickle, so we hauled in all stun'sails, rigged the booms in, 
unrove the gear, and when we had gone through the Horse 
latitudes with the usual exasperating experiences, at last 
struck the faithful nor'east trade winds in about 8° south 
latitude, bracing the yards with all sail set on the port tack, 
about one point free. In fourteen days we had sailed 
through the nor'east trades, and were brought up all a 
standing by a fierce sou'west gale of wind off the Falklands. 
We had the day before sent down royal yards and stun'sail 
booms, and stretched life-lines along the decks, and were 
now under close-reefed fore main-topsails, and reefed fore- 
sail, main-sail and mizzen top-sail, with spanker and jibs 
furled, with the fore top-mast stay-sail on her. On the star- 
board tack, the third day after we had been introduced to 
the sou'wester aforesaid, the wind lulled and commenced to 
veer to the south'ard. We wore ship, and had hardly cleared 
the decks and coiled up the running rigging on the belaying 
pins when it commenced to blow in earnest. The wind 
finally settled in the sou'east with terrific force, driving hail, 
snow and sleet. We were then running with the wind 
abeam one or two points free, and at a screeching gait, but 
with the decks covered with snow and sleet. We were scud- 
ding along at this rate very fast, and leaving the region 
where rude Boreas holds undisputed sway and comes roar- 
ing up from the Antarctic pole like a lion searching for its 
prey, or rather like one thousand frosty, hungry lions. 
When off Cape Horn the Southern Cross is nearly overhead. 

This constellation is composed of four stars in the form 
of a cross, and is said to be the brightest in the southern 
heavens. It may be said to assume to navigators in the 
southern hemisphere the same relation as the Polar or north 
star does in the northern. 



3i4 



CAPE HORN. 



We doubled the Horn in about 57 south latitude without 
experiencing anything but the usual varying and tempestuous 




ROUNDING CAPE HORN. 



weather, with hail storms, and encountering an iceberg here 
and there. The hail storms off the Horn are unlike those 



CAPE HORN. 315 

in lower latitudes, for the hail does not merely fall, but 
seems to be driven into one like so many nails. One night, 
when aloft reefing, my hands were so cut by the hail that 
they bled just as if they had been scored across their backs 
with a knife, and all aloft at the time were served so im- 
partially, except two youngsters who were on their maiden 
voyage, and had gone aloft with mittens on. But the danger 
of losing hold on the ropes is so much greater with mittens 
on that I always preferred to work bare-handed. 

In about seven days from the Horn we made the port of 
Valparaiso, which opens to the nor'ard, but is inclosed by 
high hills on all other sides. We ran in and anchored in 
five fathoms, a cable length from the shore. There is no 
dock, and cargo had to be unloaded on launches that are 
moored to the shore, from which the goods are toted by 
men. There is an inner harbor called Fisherman's Bay in 
which goods can be landed in any weather, for it is pro- 
tected on all sides. On one side of this inner port there is 
a castle, and on the other Fort St. Antonio. When we were 
there unloading and loading cargo for four days we found 
very little to attract us ashore. No theatre, or other 
place of amusement; a little guitar and fandango business, 
but that soon became stale ; no news room, nor even news- 
papers at the hotels, and very little to draw one out for a 
walk where the sidewalks are in the middle or all over the 
streets, and there is no public square or promenade where 
people can see each other if they can't converse. My Span- 
ish was understood by everybody I spoke to, but there was 
very little inducement to talk. We were glad to get away 
from Valparaiso. As we sailed out early in the morning the 
gray barren- hills around the city, without one residence to 
break the monotony, seemed to say, "We intend to resist all 
efforts at cultivation as long as possible," and the almost 
daily earthquakes seemed devised by some enemy of the 
human race to perpetuate the sterility. The great range of 



316 ANDES OF CHILI. 

the Andes, or Cordilleras, rise 13,000 feet like a wall on the 
east, or rather like a vast cloud, with sharp cones of vol- 
canoes at frequent intervals, one of which, the Akonkagua, 
lifts its smoky head nearly 24,000 feet. It is difficult, in the 
early morning, and for some hours after sunrise, to make out 
the mountains distinct from the clouds. 

These were my impressions, but a shipmate says that a re- 
sidence in Chili for some time would entirely change my 
opinion. He says the southern part of the country is the 
best, and abounds in plants and flowers, various, rich and 
beautiful, with many kinds seldom seen elsewhere, and 
nearly all European fruits, besides many native species. The 
shade and ornamental trees are of many and handsome 
varieties. The forests have many very hard woods, which are 
useful for furniture, and even so firm as to take the place of 
iron in wagons and other things in constant use. The country 
is almost free from snakes and venomous reptiles and insects, 
the skunk almost alone supplying their absence. I did not 
hear that St. Patrick had ever visited th.;t region, but, if one 
might conclude from the church-going habits of the people, 
the religion he professed prevails among all classes. How- 
ever much it may effect the presence of reptiles in fields, it 
does not entirely banish them from the heads of the people, 
whose delirium tremens was of the genuine type. This ship- 
mate was as good as a cyclopaedia or a dictionary to all in 
the fo'castle. He was a graduate of Columbia College, New 
York, and had studied law. His father, Samuel Myers, was 
a merchant, and gave his son a good start in life, but Sam, 
Junior, preferred roaming over the deep, deep sea to litigat- 
ing on shore, and so he did duty for us who had been less 
fortunate in book-learning. He said he sailed from one port 
to another until he made the one he wished to study next, 
and then he got discharged or deserted, and stayed as long 
as he liked, or until his money was gone, when he shipped 
again. A dozen years of such a roving life had stored his 



CALLAO. 



3*7 



mind with rich treasures from many countries, and he would 
be a valuable man in many places. When we landed at 
Callao he received a letter from home with the news that a 




THE SHEU..VENDER. 



rich aunt had left him a snug fortune, $50,000 or more, and- 
he answered the letter, sending his reply by the British 
steamer then in port, at an expense of $1.25 an ounce or less, 



318 CALLAO. 

to New York. He started back by the Panama route and I 
have not heard from him since. 

We next dropped anchor at Callao, which is the port 
of Lima, capital of Peru. It is built on a tongue of land, 
and the harbor is protected by the barren island of San 
Lorenzo on the west. The houses are nearly all of mud 
walls with flat roofs, but there are strong forts. The old 
town of Callao was destroyed by an earthquake about a 
century before my visit, and they point out its ruins under 
the water not far from the site of the modern town. 
Having leave to go on shore on a Sunday, I found the 
way to church, where I saw a good many handsome young 
women scattered all over the floor at their prayers, telling 
their beads or ogling the strangers, and I was one of that 
class, as they could easily see. A young man, who saw 
that I was interested more inspecting the veils of the 
ladies than in saying prayers or listening to the priest, 
came close to me and said I could kneel down near any 
one of the ladies I might take a fancy to, and she would 
not be offended if I spoke to her. Callao is a lively city, 
but there is little business enterprise as compared with 
any Yankee port of the same size. It must have grown 
much since I was there, but I have no doubt that Jack 
Tar would find his church-going just as profitable as mine 
was. Customs change very slowly in all Catholic coun- 
tries, and more slowly where they speak Spanish. The 
kind of human animals that hang around and live on Jack's 
wages in the various ports of the world belong to one order, 
although the family, genus and species may differ, as the natu- 
ralist says, no matter what their language may be, it always 
means one thing and no other — skin the sailor as soon and 
as clean as you can, for if we don't some other one will, and 
the chances are we'll never see him again. 

When a ship stays in port long enough, and leave can be 
had, it is the custom to take a run up to Lima, the capital 



LIMA. 319 

of the country, which is only seven miles away. So three of 
us from the fo'castle went to see the sights. We feasted on 
the way on some native fruits, of which the only name I can 
recall is cheremoya, which is three or four inches thick, and 
delicious. It is the prime fruit of Peru, and the only country 
in which it grows to maturity. 

The city of Lima is well worth a visit, but I must not 
attempt to describe it, for that is not in my log. I saw some 
of the lions, for instance, the mountain near called San 
Christoval, where you may see the famous bird, the condor, 
sailing high and still as if he was a leaf floating on the sea 
of air. But as our time was limited we could not make the 
ascent, although I was very desirous of seeing that noble 
bird in his native haunts. We did visit the cathedral and 
inspected the great silver altar, which was very showy, and 
reminded me of the church we looted in Vera Cruz. The 
long walk on shore had tired my shipmate, Sam Mack, and 
he thought it would by a good thing to splice the main brace 
with a stiff drink of spirits with a dash of quinine. On in- 
quiry we found that drug sold at $12 an ounce, and we were 
told that we might hunt half the hotels and drug-stores of 
Lima before we found any. They were waiting for a supply 
from New York or London. 

We climbed to the top of one of the pyramids built by the 
Incas of ancient Peru, before Pizarro's time, and saw the 
places where it is believed they offered human sacrifices to 
their feathered gods. 

One of the learned ways of levying tributes on visitors at 
Lima is to sell, if possible, the skull of the famous adven- 
turer Pizarro. Just how many different and distinct skulls 
that embodiment of avarice and inhumanity had it would be 
interesting to scientists to know, and difficult to ascertain, 
for they are scattered over the civilized world, adorning 
many private and public museums. 



320 CALLAO LIMA. 

Another trait prevails at Lima which shows the native 
kindness of the hearts of the people who thrive on the travel- 
er's wants, necessities and desire for luxuries. This is the 
invariable habit of the guides and hosts, of catering to the 
visitor's curiosity in seeing the sights, and when the traveler's 
time is limited and there is little left for visiting various de- 
sirable objects about town, a number of photographs are 
shown, and which generally, if not always, include the smil- 
ing faces of very charming young ladies, whose society would 
be most welcome under some circumstances. Even the 
photographs of local beauties is a pleasing variety and a de- 
sirable addition to the pleasures of a trip to Lima. 

I have been told that a similar custom prevails in many 
cities and seaports of Italy, and I can believe it is true, for 
the Italians are warm friends of the sailor. However it may 
be in Italy, the trait is prevalent in every seaport on the 
Pacific coast at which we touched in pursuit of commerce 
and information. 

My reader must surely have often heard it said that the 
Spanish was a very musical tongue, and I am a willing wit- 
ness to that fact, and also that when spoken in Lima by my 
cicerone, in pronouncing the names of the beautiful young 
ladies whose images in actual " pictures of silver" he showed 
me, seemed more charming than ever. Many times since I 
have repeated such of those names as I could remember, as 
a sort of ' charm against home sickness. One more musical 
than another was Senora Donata Lozano, the last pro- 
nounced Lothano, th as in than. I hope the name was ficti- 
tious, for I have had a picture engraved here that reminds 
me of her very truly. But then her grandchildren will not 
recognize it. I have never been able to account for the fas- 
cination of those Spanish names. Was it the climate? My 
recollection is that the climate was sublime, heavenly. It 
might have been the new and strange scenes and accessories. 
They were curious enough, but not likely to upset one whose 




SENORA DONATO LOZANO. 



32 2 CALLAO LIMA. 

eyes had done duty in many ports on every quarter of the 
world. Perhaps after all it was because those names were 
said to represent young and lovely women. Yes, I am per- 
suaded that is the secret. Ah! how many a young sailor, less 
cautious than I was, has been wrecked on such shoals and 
quicksands. 

Our return to Callao was by starlight, for the Matilda was 
to sail the next day, and I had no intention of staying 
ashore, where there was so little attraction either in climate, 
productions, or people. The appearance of the mountains 
in the starlight was so peculiar and cloudlike, and so im- 
mense, seeming to fill half of the eastern heavens, that I 
never until then felt the utter lack of the power of expres- 
sion. I was struck dumb, as they say, because I had no 
language adequate to express the sublimity of the scene. 
They are vastly more impressive at such a time and in such 
light than in the day time. 

In contrast with the serenity of nature ashore the human 
nature afloat was very vivid. Every person T>n board seems 
determined to exhibit his worst side and uses the roughest 
language to emphasize the exhibition. The captain damns 
the mate, the first mate damns the second mate, the second 
mate passes the unsavory compliments along and distributes 
them to the sailors; the sailors add a seasoning of their 
own, and pass them to the cook, and do not neglect each 
other. Anything in the way of kindness or common cour- 
tesy is too precious to waste at sea, or it may be such com- 
modities spoil when exposed to sea air. 

The best that Callao had to give us was a good supply of 
sweet potatoes. Thinking that the officers might, as is the 
custom, keep them all to themselves, the fo'castle made up a 
purse and bought a lot on their own account. When the 
potatoes came aboard the mate saw that some bags were 
marked and others had white rags tied to them, and was 
furious when he learned what the men had done. But the 



LOBOS ISLANDS. 323 

captain sustained the men, and we had many a good feast 
from Callao's potatoes. 

Not long after leaving Callao, and when we were opposite 
the town of Coxamarca, we were treated to several water- 
spouts, and they gave rise to many different opinions among 
the sailors as to what caused them, and whether the water 
rose from the sea or fell from the clouds. Having been very 
near to one some years before in the Atlantic, I offered the 
opinion that the water fell, and was the accumulated rain of 
many clouds swept and rolled into one by the swift circular 
wind or cyclone, and poured down as a torrent. 

One of our crew had been in Ecuador, and spent some 
weeks at this Coxamarca. His report was that it is a beau- 
tiful place for a residence. The people are skillful in the 
mechanic arts, though, like all Spaniards, they make more 
swords and knives, guns and pistols, than plows, harrows, 
hoes, &c, yet the list of articles for peaceful use is quite 
long. 

The great interest in the place for me was the traditions 
kept alive there of the inhumanity of Pizarro, shown to the 
Inca Atahualpa, who was first unmercifully talked to by a 
heartless priest and then murdered by the brutal soldier. 

We passed Lambayeque, the Lobos Islands, Payta, Cafe 
Blanco, and the Gulf of Guyaquil, where the great volcano 
Chimborazo was in full view, and the next day we crossed 
the equator. No other landing was made until we reached 
the coast of California. We touched from port to port 
along the coast during two months or more, trading off our 
merchandise and Yankee notions for native products, hides 
chiefly. The city of Mazatlan, in Mexico, at the entrance 
to the Gulf of California, kept us busy three days, and we 
could have disposed of the half of our cargo, only the cap- 
tain thought we should be able to make better terms for 
native produce in California, and so we sailed away for 
Santa Barbara. There was no port in Lower California, 



324 SANTA BARBARA. 

which was said to be a mountainous, rocky, sandy, unpro- 
ductive, uninviting region. Only a few spots have any soil, 
and for seven hundred miles there was no town worth land- 
ing at. Our first port, after Mazatlan, was San Diego, or a 
bay of the same name, and from there we sailed with a fair 
wind inside the islands of St. Clement and St. Catalina into 
the bay of San Pedro, the port of Los Angeles. This bay 
and harbor might well have been named the New Piraeus, for 
it is very much like the port of Athens, in Greece, as far as 
nature has made it, and whether houses, castles, walls and 
other works will ever be added is of course an open question. 

Sailing thence, inside the Santa Barbara islands, we made 
that port in fine weather. 

At the time of Richard Henry Dana's visit, in 1838, when 
he was " before the mast," and his vessel stopped here to 
gather hides to be shipped back to Boston, Santa Barbara 
was a small Spanish village almost entirely unknown to 
Americans. In the centre of the town stood a heavy-walled 
presidio or fort, and about it were gathered a score or more 
flat-roofed adobe cottages with white-painted walls. But 
with all its primitiveness Santa Barbara made a strong im- 
pression on Dana, and one of the most delightful portions 
of his book is that in which he describes it. 

The town exerted the same influence upon the young 
sailor that it does now upon all who visit it. Travelers who 
are familiar with all the attractive towns in the world are 
never chary in giving unlimited praise to Santa Barbara. 
Dana says he never tired watching the waves roll in upon 
the yellow sanded shore of the bay, or seeing the ever-chang- 
ing hues that crept over the mountain sides. And a visitor 
of to-day says the same. The town has grown since 1838, 
and has become modernized and fashionable, but it has 
never lost its charm. It is not a beautiful village in itself, 
strictly speaking. It is the exception, rather than the rule, 
for the houses to be pretty, and the main street of the place 



SANTA BARBARA. 325 

that extends through the centre of the town from the wharf 
back toward the old Santa Barbara Mission is far from 
being an attractive thoroughfare. Not only is it narrow, and 
at this season of the year dusty, but the shops that line it 
are, for the most part, rudely built and exceedingly plain, 
with only the charm of wide porticos, beneath which one 
finds an agreeable shade. Running parallel with the main 
street are other ways; and these are even dustier still, and 
are faced with cottages which, with rare exceptions, are ex- 
ceedingly unattractive. And as for the life of Santa Barbara, 
it has none. There is not a manufacturing establishment in 
town; the theatre, as a plain, almost ugly, hall is called, is 
rarely opened; the shop fronts with their dust and unmo- 
lested windows speak of the dulness of trade; the nearest 
railway is now, 1886, eighty miles away. 

If one came to Santa Barbara hoping or expecting to 
make a living here he would be woefully disappointed. 
There seems to be no opening of any description. A few 
energetic men, obliged to settle here because of a lack of 
good health, have been tempted to erect an ice machine in 
order to supply a long-felt want. But even their enthusiasm 
has cooled before the apathy with which the idea has been 
received by the people, who, with rare exception, have pro- 
fessed their inclination to get along without ice. And when 
one finds he cannot make money and find employment by 
making ice he subsides, and accepts the fate which seems 
bent on relegating all, the rich and the poor, the sick and 
the well, to an idleness that is in keeping with the proverbial 
quiet of the town. A few here own ranches out in the 
country, and make money out of their properties. Of the 
others, there are those who keep small shops and those who 
buy of the dealers. Nice, with which Santa Barbara has 
been compared, is like it in this respect at least, that every 
one you meet appears to have nothing to do but to enjoy 
life. But never, since it was founded, was Nice as quiet as 



326 LA PURISSIMA. 

Santa Barbara, and if one were to search the world over 
would there ever be found the exact counterpart of this 
lazy, listless village, tucked in here at the base of high blue 
mountains, with its feet bathed by the waters of the blue 
Pacific. Not original in itself, its surroundings are of great 
variety and almost indescribable beauty, and nature seems 
to have selected the valley which Santa Barbara occupies as 
the particular region upon which to bestow its most priceless 
gifts 

La Purissima, a little cluster of adobe huts, which in 
time may have been displaced by the better buildings of a 
city, for the site was a good one, being at the mouth of a 
fine creek, was then a good trading place for us, where we 
did a brisk business for a day. We also touched at Mon- 
terey, Santa Cruz, and then to San Francisco, which was 
formerly called Verba Buena, where we filled our water 
casks, replenished our stock of onions and other vegetables, 
and a quantity of beef. 

We were eighty-four days from San Francisco to Hong 
Kong, and the time was filled up in the usual way on board 
merchantmen. I have neglected to notice a young man in 
our watch who hailed from Yarmouth, Maine. He had been 
well educated in the seminary of his uncle, Woods, who left 
there to become president of the Pennsylvania University, 
at Pittsburg. He was a very well mannered young chap, 
and was quite a favorite among us. His superior knowledge 
of books and ways on shore made him an oracle in such 
matters, and we often referred to him when there was a 
difference of opinion, or question of fact, and frequently 
for facts also. He told us many amusing stories of land 
life, among which was this, concerning a visiting uncle of 
his, who was asked to do an errand for his mother in Port- 
land, which is ten miles or so away, but in those days was 
reached by water in a row or sail boat, or on land with a 
horse and wagon. So a shopping errand was a service not 



UNCLE CHARLES 



327 



easily appreciated by those who can go around the corner 
for any and everything the heart can wish for. 

This is the log in his words as near as memory serves: 
" My mother got my uncle Charles into an awful lot of 




UNCLE CHARLES FACING FATE. 



trouble by giving him a commission to do a little shopping 
for her on a hot August day in 1847. We kept a yacht of 
about thirty tons anchored at the Long Point, near our 
house, and uncle wished to take a sail in her up to the city 



328 UNCLE CHARLES. 

that day, hence the errand. There was a long list of names 
of things to be bought, among which were a pair of garters. 
Mother's had been lost a day or two, and she was every few 
minutes, as she went about the house, stooping over, her 
foot lifted on a chair, and pulling up a stocking, which of 
course would soon slip down into uncomfortable wrinkles 
again. I sailed the yacht down for him, and passed near 
Diamond Cove, which was a great resort for picnics and 
other pleasure parties, and when we tied up at the wharf I 
went on errands of my own, leaving him to his wits. 

" Uncle knew Portland. That was bad for him that day. 
He belonged in Sebago, a few miles up the country, and was 
a widower with a comfortable farm and good bank account. 
It was the duty therefore of every young unmarried women 
to set a cap for him, and as for the old maids it was their 
business to keep close watch over him lest he throw himself 
away on some young, giddy, disgustingly pretty girl, when 
they all knew he needed a middle-aged woman to take 
charge of his fine home. He felt that all feminine eyes 
were on him, and he knew that his male friends were on the 
qui vive, or close watch, for a good chance for a joke on 
him. But as he was in for it, and as the errands was for his 
brother's wife, who had an uncommonly handsome un- 
married sister, he did not dare to shrink from duty. 

" He got all the other articles, pins, needles, nutmegs, and 
whatnot — a big basketful — and left the garters for the last. 
He told me his experience in finding them when we were 
sailing home, just about sundown. 

" ' Gosh, dern it,' said uncle, ' 'f I'd a known aforehand 
jest wat kind of garters to get, they wouldn't ha' worked me 
up so. I never suspected the' wuz fifty or a hundred kinds 
of them gal-fixins. Tarnation things cost a heap o' trouble, 
an' an allfired lot o' durned foolishness among a hull lot o' 
bald-headed old sinners, who'd a blame sight better bin 
thinkin' of ther speretooal condition.' 



UNCLE CHARLES. 329 

" Uncle was pious, and considered practical joking very 
sinful, and jokes of any kind the invention of the Evil One. 
So his Satanic Majesty must have smelt very hot and sul- 
phurous that day, for every one he met, while he was carry- 
ing that basket, broke out on him in one way or another, but 
all with an allusion to his probable marriage. Some com- 
mended him, others jibed, and some cried it was a burnin' 
shame for him to be huntin' a woman when his wife had 
hardly grown cold in her grave. I was in a hardware store 
when uncle went by with his basket about full, looking quite 
like a country peddler of notions, when one of his neighbors 
spied him and run to the door. 'My sakes alive,' says he, 
'if that ain't old man Wood, my next neighbor but one, a 
tuggin' a big basketful of yarn, thread, needles, little pack- 
ages in soft paper, 'n the Lord knows what.' 

" This was 'Squire Watson, who was as full of eyes as the 
fabled Argus of the ancient Greeks, and who made good use 
of them all, as his neighbors knew full well. And he went 
on talking to the storekeeper, Jim Hamlin, a regular gossip 
and chatterer. ' Wull, I do declare, if old Wood don't seem 
as if he was going to take to himself another helpmeet. The 
old rooster! Who'd suspect him at it so soon? Must be 
some city gal this time, sure. Them things wuz never 
cak'lated for country use, for he hain't no one 'round his 
house to use 'em. Lives kind of a bachelor life now. Chil- 
dren all married off, 'ceptin' Jane Maria, 'n she'll be jined 
to Deacon Puffer's scapegrace of a son about corn shuckin' 
time.' 

" Just then Mr. Hamlin broke in with, ■ Hain't he stayin' 
up at Yarmouth with his brother Henry ? ' 

Yes, that's so; 'n I reckon he's arter Henry's wife's sister, 
who's awful pretty, or mebbe one of the young ladies in his 
brother William's seminary. Charley Wood has the tin and 
the fixin's, fine house and farm, and good horses and wagons, 



330 UNCLE CHARLES. 

an' jest about all a rational woman can ask for; but his wife — ■ 
let's see. How long's she been dead ? ' 

" ' Nigh on to three years, ain't it, Charley; you ought to 
know,' he said, talking to me. 

" Three years last May," I answered. 

" ' Wall, I swum,' said the 'Squire, ' how time duz fly. He 
won't raise the snakes 'ef he duz seek consolation at this late 
day. Bin a leetle dilatory I should say. A man at his time 
o' life hain't any too many years in prospect that he kin 
afford to throw 'em away in long courtships.' 

" ' Jimminetti, no,' said Mr. Hamlin. 'You wern't so 
darned slow; hey, 'Squire ? ' 

"'Wall, no. But you see in my case there wuz young 
children to look arter, 'n I needed some one to take a pus'nal 
interest in my affairs about the humstead.' 

" ' Sartainly, that's so,' said Deacon Puffer, who came in at 
that time, and seeing the drift of the conversation joined in. 
' It was my case, too, when I married Widow Sanford, fur I 
had five children and she had three. Both of us wuz 
anxious 'bout the little ones.' 

" ' But it's Charley Woods of Sebago we're talkin' of,' said 
Hamlin. 

" ' Goodness gracious! Man alive,' said Deacon Puffer. 
'You don't say; he ain't married yet. He's bin gone from 
hum nigh on to three weeks, 'n everybody took it fur granted 
that he'd bring hum a bran' new wife.' 

"'So he may; he's stayin' at his brother Hank's, at Yar- 
mouth.' 

" ' Oh, I see; only a step to his other brother's, who 
keeps about a hundred young ladies in a seminary. Yes, 
yes, that's it, sure enough. But what on airth kin he 
want o' one o' them ?' 

" ' Ain't sure that he want's a young wife,' said the 
'Squire. 



UNCLE CHARLES. 331 

" ' So I should say. He's as old and gray as a rat. But 
then, it is the rule for such old fellows to make fools of them- 
selves. There's no law agin' such doin's; hey, 'Squire, is 
they ? ' 

" ' Nun, 'cept gin'ral opinion. But practice goes agin 
opinion for success, any day.' 

" ' Is it a success for an old man to marry a girl young 
enough to be his granddaughter ? ' 

" ' I should venture the remark, " No sirree." I should.' 
" But Hamlin broke in, saying: 

" ' 'Tis astonishing what tarnation fools old widowers will 
make of themselves, anyhow.' 

" ' Don't know about that. There's Crane, the stone 
mason, married his fourth wife a few years ago. She was 
tremendous pretty, an' he wuz four times ez old ez she; 
but they've lived like two kittens in a nest. He trots 
around, an' she orders him 'bout like ez zif he wuz a 
boy. An' sure enough he did look an' act ten years 
younger, she fixed him up so neat to go to meetin'. ' 

" I was at the door, and in the act of taking leave of 
'Squire Watson, when uncle Charley came in, and, after 
speaking to or shaking hands with several in the store, 
turned to me and said: 

" ' Charley, I wish you would kindly fetch this basket o' 
things to the boat. I hain't found them — some o' the things — 
yet, an' I'll go and meet you at the yacht, say in a quarter 
of an hour.' 

" 'Squire Watson opened fire first. 

Wall, Woods, but we've caught you at it this time. Hey, 
old chap. Who is she ? ' 

" ' At what ? There ain't any she in the case as I know 
on.' 

" ' What's them things in the basket for, ef 'taint for a 
woman ? ' 



33 2 UNCLE CHARLES 

"'They're for a woman, that's true; but she's Charley's 
mother. Some shoppin' for her. Been stayin' there for a 
few days.' 

" ' Near the seminary, conveniently, I say ?' said Deacon 
Puffer. 

" ' Only a few rods off. Right in sight. Been there afore. 
Go often.' 

" ' So would I in your case, Charley. Good place to console 
widowers with new, young and handsome wives. Some o' 
them gals is oncommon purty.' 

" ' Wall, that's so; but I hain't got no eye on any of them.' 

"'But its fixed on some one, o' course. Now who is it? 
Out with it an' I'll treat,' said Mr. Hamlin. 

" ' Give us her name,' said 'Squire Watson. 

" ' O, let up on a feller, won't yer ?' said uncle. ' I tell yer 
tha' ain't no woman in the case, at all at all. An' that's 
Gospel truth. The basket o' things are fur my brother's 
wife, an' I've a pair of garters to git yit, an' I must be off.' 

" ' Yes, yes, I see. It's all right, Charley,' said Hamlin, 
' the basket of things are for Mrs. Hank Wood, an' the garters 
are fur her that will be Mrs. Charles Wood.' 

"Well, uncle and I had to run away and look for the gar- 
ters, which we found, and to make sure bought three pairs, 
of different patterns. I told mother of the talk in the store, 
and she thought it was taking too much liberty to joke on 
such a serious topic, and aunt Amy said she respected any 
one in distress too much to poke fun at their misfortune.' 

" That caught uncle, and he gave her a significant look 
which she caught, and blushed scarlet. 

" ' Of course they were married ?' 

" Oh, yes, after a little time, and they live at the home- 
stead overlooking Sebago Pond, with Kearsarge mountain 
on one side and Ascutney on the other, in full sight. A 
beautiful home, and I hope to see it soon after this voyage 
ends." 



JOE BENSON. 33$ 

Joe Benson spoke out and said : 

" Shipmates, have you ever heard of Port Byron on the 
Erie canal ? Well, up aloft there I was introduced to this 
life, in the house owned by my father, which stood near the 
flouring mills on the Four Mile creek. We used to run 
away from school and go in swimming in that creek, and 
sometimes go down a mile or so to the Seneca river, and 
once we wandered as far as to Montezuma, where night and 
a rain overtook us, and we got passage home on a raft of 
timber, arriving about midnight, to find half of the village 
out hunting for our bodies in the creek. Most of the boys 
who were my playmates then have finished their life's voy- 
ages, and only here and there one remains, so far as I know. 
One is known as Byron M. Pickett, a sculptor in New York 
City. His father was a barber, and played the violin at 
dances. He was very proficient in telling such tales as the 
' Arkansas Traveler,' and accompanying himself on his fiddle. 
He could keep a company in a roar of laughter for an in- 
definite time with that, or any one of many similar tunes and 
songs which were always at his tongue s end. 

" Mr. William Howland owned an island in the river near, 
of several miles in extent. I remember his great house in 
the middle of the island,- on a slight rise of ground, sur- 
rounded by magnificent forest trees, with wild grape vines 
trailing from tree to tree, and broad lawns, beautiful mead- 
ows bordered by the river, fringed with elms, and gardens, 
orchards, and all that money, fine rich soil, and favoring cli- 
mate can produce. As boys, we sampled his orchard and 
melons, but I always felt guilty, because he would never 
refuse when asked for a taste of fruit, or anything else that 
grew on the farm. He invited us to come and hold coon 
hunts as often as we liked, and we were always sure to get 
one or more coons at his place. It was he that indirectly 
set my fancy at work about the sea. He employed an old 
sailor on the place to look after the fences and other light 



334 T 0E BENSON. 

work, and one summer, having some fine imported stock, he 
hired me to help the old tar. Many an hour he reeled off 
his log to me in a corner of the fence, or under the shadow 
of an oak or a basswood, until I was full of a desire to see 
the ocean. 

" I had graduated from the village school, read every book 
of travels by sea or land, and devoured over and over again 
the " Lives of the Early Navigators," " The Buccaneers," 
and of course " The Pirates of Barrataria," beside " Captain 
Kidd." I believed I could find the very spot where his main 
treasure was buried, and longed for a chance to try. So I 
ran away from home, and have only seen it once in twenty 
long years. The place was so changed, the people dead, 
moved away to the west, or roving as I was, that there was 
no longer any charm for me, since my mother was no more 
below the skies. Father had gone west with my brother 
and sister, and I turned my face toward the sea again, and 
here I am. I may anchor ashore some day, if some fair 
maid will take me for what I am, but if not I shall find a 
berth in the Sailors' Snug Harbor, or it may be in Davy 
Jones' locker." 

All hands were friends of Joe Benson, and rather looked 
up to him for his superior education and quiet, gentlemanly 
manners. He never swore or used any violent language, 
and he was never known to quarrel with any one. He after- 
wards became mate in an Indiaman, and the last I saw of 
him was on her deck as they were heaving up anchor for the 
return voyage to New York. 

We took a Malay on board at San Francisco who was 
anxious to return to his native country, and could do so 
readily from Hong Kong. He could speak a little English, 
and Jim Dayton, one of our watch, knew a few words of 
Malayan, so the two got along very well together. 

I never liked the Malays. Their faces are against them. 
If there is any truth in the theory of evolution of the white 



agassiz. 335 

man from the apes, it must be true that our line skipped the 
Malay in its progress upward. I incline to the theory of 
Agassiz that mankind were created in separate and distinct 
groups, each in its appropriate part of the world, and each 
adapted to its surroundings The Malays are very numerous 
in the east. They are everywhere as workmen, sailors and 
mechanics. The reddish-brown of their faces and bodies is 
a deeper and redder tint than that of any American Indian. 
We might call them copper-colored. The hair is black as 
jet, coarse, and the beard thin, and generally pulled out by 
the roots in youth and all the time. They are fond of roving 
about from island to island, port to port. Cowardly, treach- 
erous and vindictive, they will nurse a smothered resentment 
and diabolic design under the most profuse show of good 
will and affection until a chance presents itself, and then 
pounce on the victim like the tiger in its native jungle. 
They are not by any means civilized, nor can they be. They 
ate the first missionaries sent among them with the Christian 
religion, at a grand public banquet. They are natural-born 
pirates, a disposition which they inherit from a long line of 
piratical ancestors. Though separated from each other by 
thousands of miles, this people, wherever found on the 
islands of the Indian Ocean, or on the continent of Asia, 
have very similar language, features, manners, habits and 
form of body, which shows their identity at a glance. I was 
never really afraid of any live man, but that Malay gave me 
more uneasiness than any other mortal ever did before or 
since. 

Pope says : 

" The proper study of mankind is man." 

And another poet, whose lines are quoted here, but whose 
name I never knew, says : 

" The work of man is man to study well 
Where'er he move, or where the races dwell, 
On barren shores, or in the tropic belt, 
Or where alternate heat and cold is felt," 



336 HONG KONG. 

We had a philosopher on board, but he was not in my 
watch. He held forth in the fo'castle, on deck, aloft, wherever 
he could find a listening ear, on the various theories as to 
the creation of man, and inclined to accept that in which it 
is taught that the great races were created at different times 
in this order : Negro, Malay, American Indian, and Cau- 
casian, forming a progressive series, in which intellect and 
the moral faculties are developed in the order indicated. 




WHAMPOANS. 

We had a good field for such studies in the east, and we 
compared notes in the fo'castle very minutely, if not criti- 
cally 

At Hong Kong we discharged part of our cargo, and once 
more weighed, and stood out into the China Sea, bound up 
to Shanghai, some six hundred miles up the eastern coast, 
near the mouth of the Yang-tse-Kiang river. We had a 



CHINESE PILOT. 337 

wearisome and tedious passage up, and were obliged to beat 
nearly the whole way, with an occasional slant, which took 
us three weeks to accomplish. Arriving at Shanghai, we 
discharged the remainder of our cargo, and, with only ballast 
enough to stiffen her, bade adieu to that port. Steering 
down the coast we reached Hong Kong in three days, coming 
to an anchor to wait for a chop or permit in order to go up 
to Whampoa. Obtaining the permit after a week's delay, 
we proceeded up in charge of a Chinese pilot, and arrived 
next day. 

While ashore at Hong Kong, after getting clear of the 
Navigator, and before shipping in the Gazelle, I went almost 
every morning to see Chinamen flogged. I was horrified, 
but also was fascinated, by the brutal work. The victims 
were tied by the feet to the lower arms of a St. Andrew's 
cross, and their arms and hands fastened to the upper arms, 
when two lascars, one of them left-handed, applied the lash 
or rattan to the back from the shoulders to the waist. A 
wink from the officer who directed the service (civil ?) 
would give the lascars the sweet privilege of cutting off a 
strip of skin, which can be easily done with the rattan. 
The kind-hearted operators close the scene by sprinkling 
strong brine over the wounds to increase the effect. 

I wonder if the whipping-post in Delaware has any of the 
horrors of the Chinese cross. 

A ludicrous sight was one Chinaman driving another 
about the streets, as children do at home with us, and lash- 
ing him severely as punishment for some crime or other. 

" Treat every man as he deserves, 

Who shall 'scape whipping ? — None ! " 

I was then on my old ground again, and considering my- 
self an authority on matters appertaining to China and 
Chinese, like some of the late English writers on America 
and the Americans, who know about as much of the latter 



338 



MACAO. 



as I did of the former, undertook to be a chaperone to my 
shipmates. The success of my service as chaperone may as 
well be omitted. 

Then we got the ship ready for a cargo of teas and silks, 
in the same manner as narrated in former pages, viz. : by 
smoking the rats out of her, or rather suffocating them with 
the fumes of charcoal. As is usual, we were employed 
setting up standing rigging, rattling down and tarring, 
mending sails, and painting ship inside and out. All this 
occupied two weeks, when our homeward cargo began to 




#**&&■ 



CHINAMAN FLOGGED. 



arrive alongside in " chops " (Chinese lighters), accompanied 
by our old tea-shipping friend, the Chinese weigher and his 
paraphernalia. In another three weeks we were filled up, 
hatches battened, sails bent, water racked off, purified and 
filtered, with everything ready for sea once more. 

With the pilot on board, and the ship unmoored, we pro- 
ceeded down the river towards Macao, and, with a favor- 
able monsoon, discharged the pilot, and steered for the 
Straits of Sunda, between the islands of Sumatra and Java, 



MADAGASCAR. 339 

We had a fine passage, fair wind and favorable weather, 
and in ten days came to an anchor in the straits off Anjer 
Point, and, as in former voyages, traded old knives, razor- 
blades, pins, needles, and other trifling articles for monkeys, 
Java sparrows, and other curios; also for "joggery,"a native 
sugar. I looked to see if I could trace any of the relations 
of the monkeys I had taken away with me in the Niantic 
and J. G. Coster, but their faces were all so much alike that 
I could not distinguish any individuality, and therefore gave 
up the research, but perhaps Darwin, if he had been there, 
would have been more successful. To my eye, a monkey is 
a monkey — or, if he don't die on my hands, a certain num- 
ber of dollars. I have no respect for the theory of man's 
descent from monkeys, or from anthropoid apes, and very 
little, if any, for those who advocate such absurdities, although 
I am inclined to agree with Col. Bob Ingersoll, who said he 
would sooner believe he had descended from an ape than 
from some men he knew of. 

Remaining at Anger two days, during which we had re- 
plenished with yams, sweet potatoes, and native fruits for 
the ship's company, we weighed and made sail. With a 
steady breeze through the Straits of Sunda, next morning at 
break of day the distant outline of the Javanese coast was 
all but lost to view, and we were now fairly in the Indian 
Ocean homeward bound for New York, favored with the 
general sou'east winds that prevail in these latitudes. We 
carried this breeze up to the longitude of Madagascar with- 
out any interruption of note for eighteen days, when the 
winds became more variable, and began to veer to the 
east'ard, then to the nor'ard, and finally to the west'ard, 
which obliged up to lie close hauled on a wind. As the 
breeze now began to blow big guns, we began to shorten 
sail, and before next morning we were hove to under storm 
canvas, namely — a tarpaulin in the weather-mizzen rigging, 
and on the starboard tack. We remained on this tack 



34° 



S. E. TRADES. 



and under this sail for nine days, when at last, the wind 
suddenly veering to the sou'west, we set the close-reefed 
main-topsail and fore-topmast staysail, and wore ship very 
handsomely, as there was a tremendous sea running. We 
had hardly got her on the other tack, when the wind took 
another start, and veered to the sou'east. We then set the 
fore-topsail close reefed, and reefed fore-sail. That evening, 
in the last dog-watch, we put the close-reefed mizzen-topsail 




CHINESE JUG. 



on her, and shook out the reef in the foresail, and jogged 
along all night in comfort under that canvas. Then it be- 
came apparent that the sou'east trades had us in hand. 
Next morning at seven bells, after the watch below had 
their breakfast, all hands were turned to making sail. Reefs 
were shaken out fore and aft, and the muslin was piled on 
to her, whole topsails and courses, to'gallant sails, royals 
and flying jib, then stun'sails. Then came the order, 
" Haul up the weather clew ot the mainsail, and rig out the 




FAIR STORY TELLER. 



342 EQUATOR. 

starboard stun'sail-booms, and you boys lay aloft, rig out 
the fore and main royal and to'gallant stun'sail-booms, and 
reeve the gear," shouted by Mr. Thomas, our chief mate. 
" Royal yards, there ! stand by to receive and cross the 
skysail yards; lay aloft on the mizzen there, you monkey, 
and cross the mizzen skysail yards," said the second mate to 
the smallest boy on board. After the stun'sails had been 
set, the skysails were then sheeted home and set. On the 
passage home, we were employed (all that could handle a 
palm and needle) in repairing and middlestitching every 
sail in the sailroom, and even stun'sails, including the sails 
on the yards which were inbent, one at a time, so they 
could be middlestitched. 

We crossed the equator in 36 west longitude in thirty 
days from the Cape, sighted the Highland lights in twenty- 
five days more, were towed up the bay and alongside the 
wharf, foot of Dover street, October 14, after a passage from 
Whampoa of one hundred and five days. This was a particu- 
larly uneventful voyage for me. Everything went and 
worked smoothly. There were no quarrels, disputes, nor any 
thing in particular to disturb the general routine of ship life, 
and I was glad of it, for I had seen quite enough of tragedies 
at sea. 1 

I now fully realized the benefit of having a home to come 
to after a long sea voyage, and determined to take advan- 
tage of it by having a good rest for a few weeks and enjoy- 
ing myself in my own way. During my stay at home I came 
to the conclusion that by making long voyages and embark- 
ing in small ventures out and home on my own account, I 
could make more money than in making short ones, I there- 
fore determined to continue in the line of action I had 
elected as long as I followed the sea for a livelihood. 

In pursuance of this resolve I next shipped for a voyage 
to China and back to New York in the clipper ship Sea 
Witch, Captain Benjamin. It was bitter cold, being the 




ARABIAN DANCING GIRL. 



344 EASTERN ARCHIPELAGO. 

middle of December, but in twenty-four hours, with a favor- 
able and stiff breeze, we reached the southeasterly edge of 
the Gulf Stream, where the temperature was almost tropical. 
After we got clear of the Gulf Stream we clapped all the 
kites on her, and we had a rapid and pleasant run of twenty 
days to the eastern board of the broad Atlantic, and shortly 
fell in with the delectable Horse latitudes, experiencing the 
usual succession of calms, rains, thunder and lightning, and, 
in the intervals, broiling heat, with catspaws of wind from 
every point of the compass, necessitating a continual bracing 
of the yards night and day. We were thus tortured for 
twelve days, after which we struck the regular northeast trade- 
wind, and, bracing up on the port or larboard tack, with 
the wind a point free, stretched away at a merry rate to the 
regions of the South Atlantic, where the winds are variable 
but generally from the west'ard. We thus sailed through 
these northeast trades until in twenty-four days we reached 
the 50 parallel of south latitude, and met with the prevail- 
ing westerly winds, when, squaring our yards in due season, 
doubled the Cape of Good Hope and entered the Indian 
Ocean. The northeast monsoon was then blowing down the 
China Sea, and it was imperative that we should take the 
eastern passage through the innumerable islands of the 
eastern archipelago, and accordingly laid our course for the 
southeastern point of the island of Java. Then sighting San- 
dalwood, an island lying south of Java, began threading our 
way through the maze of islands and narrow passages of 
those regions, passing outside or to the east'ard of the Phil- 
ippines, entered the Chinese Sea, and bore away for Hong 
Kong with a leading wind. After a most fortunate passage 
of ninety-eight days, came to an anchor in Hong Kong roads 
without carrying away a rope-yarn or meeting any Malay 
pirates. I suppose that steam has thinned out those pirates, 
for the European nations who have possessions in the East 
have war steamers plying for the protection of their com- 



346 STEAMERS AND PIRATES. 

merce in those seas. A steamer is a terror to a piratical 
sailor. 

In a few days we received a chop, or Chinese govern- 
ment permit, to go up the river to Whampoa with a native 
pilot. We hove up, made sail, and arrived at Whampoa, 
where we moored ship, and learned that we would have to 
wait until the last of June, or the beginning of July, in order 
to load with the new crop of teas, which would not be 
ready before that time. It was then only April, and the lay 
of three months gave us plenty of time to overhaul rigging, 
rattle down, tar, paint inside and out, repair sails, and 
renovate any and everything inboard and outboard, from 
truck to keelson. 

At last, in the latter part of June, the first chop ariived 
alongside, and the lading was begun. But it progressed 
very slowly, on account of the chops arriving alongside 
only at intervals, and it was the middle of July before we 
were full. At last, being " chock a block," ship was un- 
moored and sail made on her ready for sea, and, with a pilot 
on board, worked down the river to Macao. But, as the 
sou'west monsoon was then blowing up the China Sea, we 
could not sail directly for the Straits of Sunda, but were of 
necessity compelled to make a circuit by nearly the same 
route as if bound to China from New York when the north- 
east monsoon is blowing down the China Sea. After 
meandering through the innumerable straits and passages 
of that labyrinth of islands, we emerged into the Indian 
Ocean, near the Island of Timor Laut, after a passage which 
occupied us eighteen days. Then we were fairly in the 
Indian Ocean and homeward bound, with the prevailing 
sou'east winds which almost invariably blow from the same 
point in those latitudes. 

The fo'castle is a veritable exchange of seaman's yarns, 
and frequently the scene of wordy contests for the champion- 
ship in telling the biggest whopper. It is not to be supposed 



34-8 CAPT. JOHN STIVERS. 

for a moment that an old salt will intentionally tell a lie, or 
even stretch the truth. He knows better, because he is 
aware that experienced ears are around, and older or more 
experienced hands are ready to catch him at it if he should 
try it. So when old Captain John Stivers yarned about the 
foundering of a ship that he sailed in we listened intently, 
feeling that something good was in store for us. And there 
was, sure enough. Well, Captain John paid out in this style: 

" Once on a homeward passage from Liverpool to New 
York the ship sprung a leak in a gale, and the cargo being 
railroad iron all hands were put to the pumps, passengers 
volunteering through fear and anxiety. In spite of all, the 
water gained every hour, and the captain decided to take to 
the boats; so they were floated, provisioned, watered, and 
crew and passengers crowded in, filling them all to the 
utmost, the storm still raging, and seas mountains high. 
When all was ready, the word was given to shove off, the 
vessel suddenly sank, swamping every boat and drowning 
every soul of the passengers and crew." 

We listened, breathless, to the thrilling tale — until some 
one inquired, " Who reported the disaster ?" when Captain 
John saw that he had missed a link in his chain cable, and 
so was afloat. We never let up on him. He now lives 
ashore, as I do, only he keeps a grocery at Stonington, and 
I — well, my son-in-law now has my store. 

As we neared the equator, we stripped one mast at a 
time, overhauling the eyes of the rigging, the lifts, foot- 
ropes, and brace pendants of the yards, likewise the rigging 
appertaining to the bowsprit; then rattling, tarring down, 
painting all spars alow and aloft, and the ship inside and 
out. Many of us had been in China before, and it may be 
supposed that we compared notes in the fo'castle very care- 
fully, and as the Chinese importation, immigration, or in- 
vasion question is uppermost now and then, it may be worth 
the space if I give my opinion on that peculiar variety of 



CIVIL SERVICE. 349 

genus homo. If their historians tell us correctly, they have 
worn similar dresses, and kept to the same customs and 
habits, laws and religion for thousands of years. Centuries 
would be tiresome enough to us. They very seldom change 
anything, not even an undergarment. They may take off 
a part of their costume for washing, but it appears in its 
place again very soon. They also are so alike each other 
that it is impossible for a stranger visiting the country for 
the first time to pick out one from another, or to identify 
one if he has been on board a while and returns to land, 
and attempts to come aboard again in an hour or so. 

They have only one royal road to rank and fortune, which 
is by learning. The whole nation is a competitive class, 
striving for promotion to some public office or employment. 
In short, they are a civil service nation gone to seed. The 
system is said to be complete, and without objection, since 
only the most capable men ever get office at all. The 
salaries of public officers are very low, not enough to pay 
their expenses in some cases, for instance that of revenue 
collectors, who are said to extort money as a necessity for 
their own needs. On my third visit to China I had learned 
to pick out the nine different kinds of mandarin, one from 
another, by their dress and attendants. We found the 
Chinese industrious, peaceable, mild in disposition, docile, 
and having a profound respect for the aged. Such good 
qualities of course have their opposites, and they are in- 
sincere, liars on principle, and every man suspects every 
other. Gambling is nearly universal. A common sign in 
the windows of shops is, " There is no cheating here," while 
" Look out for your purses," meaning beware of pickpockets, 
is seen in all places. 

The fact is, their government is too fatherly, meddling 
with every act from the cradle to the grave. Custom is 
very onerous, even to the little matter of regulating the size 
of visiting card you may or must give on making or return- 



CHINESE FOOD. 35 I 

ing a call, so they vary from an inch or two to a yard 
square. But your extremely polite visitor may rob you 
then, or any time a chance may occur. 

The Chinese eat everything without exception that is 
palatable, and some things that we hold in disgust: as rats, 
mice, etc., though I confess a rat stew is good if you do 
not know beforehand what it is. Their favorite spirit is 
made from rice, and they do not make wine from grapes. 
Tea is the universal drink, and they are very fastidious in 
their taste. Drunkenness is common enough, and opium is 
said to be used by great numbers, but as it is a secret vice 
I did not see any of it. 

There are many countries which one may visit to ad- 
vantage without the least desire to remain as a resident, and 
China is one. You can buy silk goods, such as a handsome 
shawl or handkerchief at a low price, and, if inclined, a 
thousand little objects for ornaments carved in ivory, or 
made of metal, which will pay you from fifty to five hundred 
per cent, on their cost if sold in New York or London. But 
it is no place for a white man to tie up to. No good 
anchorage. Too many people. Swarms of people, like flies 
at home. Human life is very cheap, and unless you are in 
some exalted station, public or private, you are a mere 
speck of dust. 

Turning these and other topies over filled up the long 
days of the voyage, and time passed rapidly as the ship 
glided through the waves on the homeward stretch. 

We had by this time nearly reached the latitude of the 
Bermudas, when the northeast trades deserted us in latitude 
23 north and longitude 33 west. Thence we had a suc- 
cession of variable winds all round the compass until we 
struck sounding to the west'ard of the Gulf stream. We 
made the Highland's light the same night, and received a 
pilot, and next morning, with a beautiful day, sailed up to 
New York (without a tug and with the wind at west sou'- 



35 2 



HOME AGAIN. 



west), with three standing skysails, and a main moonsail, 
and came to, dropping our mud-hook under foot close in to 
the wharf, after a not bad passage of ninety-eight days from 
Macao — a passage not to be ashamed of even for a clipper, 
considering the lengthened route, in consequence of the 
sou'west monsoon necessitating four thousand miles extra 
to be traversed. 

The winter was now approaching, and I, having made in 
investments on my own account more than double my 
wages, considered myself entitled to a spell ashore, after 
which I would undertake another voyage to the Antipodes 
or East Indies, and, if successful in my investments, seek 
on my return more congenial employment ashore. 











BURLING SLIP, NEW YORK. 



Chapter XIV. 



" Farewell ! a word that must be, and hath been 
A sound which makes us linger ; yet farewell ! 
Ye who have traced the ' Wanderer' to the scene 
Which is his last, if in your memories dwell 
A thought which once was his; if on ye swell 
A single recollection, not in vain 
He wore his sandal shoon and scallop shell ; 
Farewell ! with him alone may rest the pain, 
If such there were — with you, the moral of his strain." 

In pursuance of my determination to make another long 
voyage, I cast about for a ship for either India or China and 
met Captain Cressy in New York one day, whom I had 
known in Whampoa thirty years previously as mate of the 
ship Horatio of Boston, on board of which ship we, the crew 
of the JYiantic, on my first voyage to China, passed the night 
while our ship was being smoked to clear out the rats. 

He recognized me at once by circumstances happening op 
that memorable voyage of the JViantic, and telling me how 
he was about to sail in a week or ten days, and was bound 
on a long voyage round the Horn to the west coast of 
South America, Gulf of California, and California, and then 
to the other side of the Pacific via Honolulu. 

I accordingly shipped with Captain Cressy in the Flying 
Cloud. The Flying Cloud was laden with a miscellaneous 
assortment of freight of all kinds for the California market, 
more particularly household goods, as the gold State was 
fast filling up with people. With a clear, frosty nor'wester, 
and a pilot on board, we cast off from the wharf foot of Wall 
street, New York, and, without a tug, we made sail on her. 
Her head fell off before the influence of the head sails, 
then her after yards were soon covered with her broad and 
snow-white canvas, with which our noble clipper soon 
reached the outer bar, where the pilot left, and we proceeded 



354 0L]D SALTS. 

under all sail. The ground tackle gear was first secured 
and cables unbent, spare spars and boats lashed. After we 
reached the western edge of the Gulf it came on to blow a 
regular screecher, so that we had all we could do to keep 
the sail on that we had set. In twelve days we ran into the 
soul- vexing Doldrums. After the usual bracing and counter- 
bracing night and day, accompanied by torrents of rain and 
intense heat and thunder and lightning for nine days, the 
northeast tradewind came to our unspeakable relief, when 
on the larboard tack we braced up with the wind free, 
bounded like a courser toward Cape Horn, which exhilarat- 
ing vicinity we reached in nineteen days. 

On this voyage the fo'castle was made more than usually 
interesting by the presence among us of two or three old 
salts who had seen unfrequented parts of the world, and 
whose tongues were loosened now and then for our pleasure 
and profit. As we were working our way slowly through 
the Straits of Magellan against a sou'west wind, I remem- 
bered the severe hail and sleet storm we had on board the 
Matilda on a former voyage round the Horn, and spoke of 
it to Sam Mack, Avho had made three passages through the 
Straits. He said the absence of hail and snow was remark- 
able, for the weather in that region was almost constantly 
boisterous. But the weather is not the worst thing to face 
in these latitudes, he went on to say for the Patagonian In- 
dians are the most barbarous fiends in human shape on the 
face of the earth. I was in the English bark Kent which 
went to pieces among the rocks at the west end of the 
Strait, and those of the crew who were not drowned escaped 
with the captain, second mate, and steward, only to suffer a 
thousand tortures of fatigue, hunger, fever, wounds, and 
being dragged about the country by the cruel savages. 
When we landed among the rocks there was no sign of in- 
habitants, and Captain Frazer said he hoped we should 
escape their unwelcome attentions, but we were not destined 



INDIANS. 355 

for such good luck. As soon as we had made a fire the 
devils saw it and hurried to see what it meant. Nearly 
every one was mounted on a horse, and carried a long spear. 
Some had beside the spear a lasso, to both ends of which 
there was tied a stone of about a pound weight. They 
were partly covered with skins, and had long black hair, 
falling to their waists. Their lungs were in good order, for 
they screeched and yelled, apparently delighted to find 
game, for such an idea as doing a kindness to a shipwrecked 
sailor never entered their brutal heads. The mate had 
saved his pistol and had a few rounds of ammunition, and 
proposed to the captain to kill as many of the devils as he 
could, and it might be scare away the rest. The captain 
argued that to kill a few would only draw a swarm about us, 
and enrage the whole, like a nest of hornets. Just then, as 
the mate and captain were discussing, a savage aimed a spear 
at Captain Frazer, who saw the movement in time to spring 
one side, and at the next instant the mate blazed away and 
there was one dead native. The others were frightened 
and ran away a short distance, but soon crept back to where 
their dead companion lay, and carried him away. They dis- 
appeared among the rocks, and we built up our fires anew, 
and began to dry our clothes, which were soaked in half 
frozen water. The steward had saved some biscuit and 
cooked meat in a bag. There were eleven of us, all 
told, but one poor fellow had broken his left arm by a fall 
after we got ashore, so there were only ten able-bodied. The 
ship or bark was only a short distance from shore, and we 
hoped when the storm abated we might be able to get some- 
thing useful from her, or at least pick up fragments that 
might float ashore. While we were talking over these 
matters and trying to make the best of our situation, 
one of our men who had gone aside for a moment astrono- 
mizing, as he said, by way of forecasting the weather, re- 
turned in haste, and whispered to the mate that the natives 



356 INDIANS. 

were closing in on us in great numbers. So the mate took 
his pistol and crawled on all fours a little way from the fire 
toward the approaching Indians, and very soon settled ac- 
counts with another one. This time they did not carry off 
the dead or wounded, but ran away to stay. They evidently 
did not like the smell of powder. We kept watch and watch 
the rest of that night, and were not disturbed again by 
the natives. About daylight I crept out from our circle 
and looked about for something in the way of game for 
breakfast. I knew that the guanaco was to be found all 
along the Pacific coast, and hoped to see at least one, if 
not a herd, and was not disappointed. Less than half 
a mile from our fire there was a runway where those 
animals went down to drink, for they will drink water 
that is at least half sea-water. Creeping cautiously up- 
ward towards the highland I found a sandy plain with 
clumps of bushes and short tufts of grass scattered about, 
and not far away a herd of six or eight guanacos feeding, 
and headed toward the water. I ran back and soon had the 
mate and his pistol safely moored behind a rock near the 
edge of the plain, while I crept toward the herd, bent on 
playing a trick that I had heard of as sure to trap the silly 
beast. When a hundred feet or more away from the mate's 
hiding place, I lay on my back in a clump of grass and shook 
my trotters in the air, when the guanacos came trooping up 
curious to see what it was in the grass. The mate picked 
off the leader, and as the habit of those animals is when their 
leader is killed, they wandered round and round until five 
of them had been secured for food, and their hides to serve 
for beds. Hearing the firing the whole crew and the cap- 
tain came out and helped carry in the game. 

Well, to cut a long story short, we stayed there until the 
storm blew itself out, the sea calmed a little, and managed 
to pick up some of our provisions, cargo, spars, and whatnot 
from the wreck, with which we made ourselves quite com- 



IN CAPTIVITY. 



357 



fortable. Among other things, we got a sea-chest with two 
more pistols, revolvers, and a lot of ammunition; so we felt 
now more safe than ever so far as the natives were con- 
cerned. The captain's anxiety was for a lookout for pass- 
ing vessels, and means of hoisting a signal, both of which 
we managed after a fashion. Just as we 
had got comfortably settled down, built a 
little shelter of stones, fragments from the 
wreck, and parts of sails, we were attacked 
again by a troop of natives on horses. 
They came early one morning while we 
were scattered, some getting fresh water, 
others collecting grass 



and weeds for fuel, 
and so we were divid- 
ed. But the mate's 
pistol did good serv- 
ice, and brought down 
two of the rascals and 
wounded others be- 
fore we were over- 
powered. But what 
could we do against 
fifty or more savages, 
who were brave ^ 
enough to face a pis- 
tol ? I was seized and 
bound to a horse, and 
so was the mate, as I supposed from his cries of agony, for 
I could not see him, and we hurried off among the rocks 
along the shore. I expected they would take us across the 
plain to some camp of theirs, but I was mistaken. Their 
camp was near the water, and about five miles from ours. 
The ride seemed to be five hundred, for I was hung across 
a bony horse like a bag, and tied by raw hide cords under 




LUXURY ASHORE. 



358 IN CAPTIVITY. 

his belly by the wrists and ankles. In that position every 
jolt the horse made seemed to threaten to cut me in two at 
the waist. 

I can't tell you all we saw and suffered in the ten days 
we were at that native camp, but some things will surprise 
you; they have two of the vices of civilized life — drunken- 
ness and gambling. The Indians had seen the wreck, and, 
among other things, had got one cask of rum. That served 
to keep every one, women and all, in a glorious condition, 
and we hoped to be able to escape by means of this habit, 
but were not successful at first. After five days two more 
of our company were brought in, the steward and a sailor. 
They brought us news of the rest. Poor Jim Banks had 
died from fever caused by his broken arm and exposure, 
but the others were doing well. 

They have native liquor, which is the fermented juice of 
some seeds called garoba, or of a fruit called pikanino. 
Both these are used when they cannot get better alcoholic 
liquors. 

The women do all the work at the camp. Bring fueh 
water, cook, dress skins for clothing, weave a coarse cloth of 
grasses, or hemp, and are never at rest except when asleep. 

The steward feigned sick, and so cheated the women who 
had charge of him that they unbound him, and gave him 
copious drinks of tea made of the leaves of a bush that 
grows among the rocks near the edge of the sandy plain. 
After three days of possum play the steward crept off in 
the night, and went back to our camp, where he proposed 
a rescue which was successfully carried out, and we were 
once more all together, and after that kept better guard. 
We were rescued by the good ship Almird, Captain Beech, 
bound from Liverpool to Valparaiso, whose mate had seen 
our signal and the smoke of our camp fire. We made port 
at Valparaiso in seven days, and there got passage back to 
England. Mack thought he should be able to point out 



CALIFORNIA. 359 

the location of his residence in Patagonia, but the Flying 
Cloud kept a good distance off shore to avoid the rocks, 
which were as thickly clustered as paving-stones in Liver- 
pool, and, too, the weather was hazy, when it did not snow 
or blow. We breathed a little freer when the Straits were 
left behind us, and the ship headed away for Valparaiso, 
where we arrived in eight days from the Horn, and l)ing to 
at anchor for three days did a lively business trading off 
household goods for provisions and cash, or hides. The 
various landings made from there to San Francisco were 
but a repetition in many particulars of my former voyage in 
the Matilda, only that the trade of the Flying Cloud was 
much more prosperous in every way, so that by the time we 
made the California coast more than half of the cargo was 
disposed of. 

We took on several passengers at each port, bound for 
the gold, diggings of California, and the chief topic of con- 
versation all day and all night was the prospect of amassing 
wealth at the mines. No other topic could hold any one 
more than a moment or two, when the absorbing gold fever 
would assert its power and come uppermost again. At the 
Isthmus of Panama we received a number of passengers 
and some mail and newspapers from New York. Those 
who had letters would disappear for a short time, but would 
in nearly every case reappear with the letter open, and, 
finding friends, or acquaintances, read parts of the letter 
aloud to eager listeners. 

It was a good study to scan the features of the various 
persons who were on their way to the golden land. All 
wore the eager look of expectation, but behind that were 
all sorts of faces — old, young, hard visages and smooth 
young faces. Some there were who evidently were bound 
on a trip of pure adventure, merely for the enjoyment of 
the excitement incident to a wild life among the placers 
and in the gulches. Others were more serious and earnest, 



SAN FRANCISCO. 36 1 

and seemed to feel that the risk was great, but could be 
overcome by resolution and courage. Still another class, 
who seemed driven onward to face the well known hard- 
ships and dangers for the sake of the hoped for treasure, 
which was needed at home to relieve some heavy debt, or 
as provision for declining years. Well, all hands, cook and 
pilot, at last blessed their eyes with a glimpse of the land of 
gold when we dropped anchor inside the Golden Gate. 

We arrived at San Francisco in 1849, in October, just a 
few days before the State constitution was adopted, and 
when, it is said, there were a hundred thousand people in 
and about San Francisco, made up of persons from every 
nation and language on the globe. The men who went to 
California in '49 have been since called " The Argonauts," 
and they certainly did go on a long and perilous journey in 
search of a golden fleece or treasure, only in this case the 
expedition sailed west, while the ancient Greeks, under 
Captain Jason, sailed east. Some got treasure, and others 
were fleeced, so there can be no objection to giving them 
the name. Their story has been told many times, and well, 
and I could add very little to the books already printed, 
but still it may be interesting to know how much it cost us 
sailors to resist the temptation to desert and rush to the 
mines. We were told that nearly three thousand sailors 
had deserted in the year just past (1849), and that a rich 
harvest was sure for those who had nerve and endurance. 
I had both, but reflected that my desires had always been 
moderate, and there was no reason why I should change 
my plans and run into dangers and exposure that were un- 
known, but were certainly very great, and so I held on to 
the ship, and so did nearly all of the other sailors. The 
discussions were lively, and occupied us every moment 
while in the fo'castle, or at work, or it may be said all the 
time, for our very dreams run to mining, and were colored 
by the tales of adventures and successes that we heard. 



SAN FRANCISCO. 363 

Our captain and officers were very uneasy, and seemed in 
a feverish haste about everything going on, I suppose ex- 
pecting something like a wholesale desertion of the crew, 
and when Sam Mack left us for the mines they called us 
aft for consultation, and they talked very rationally con- 
sidering the danger they thought they were in, for, as I 
have written before, the question had been settled before 
by the men, but the officers did not know that. They were 
greatly puzzled at our quiet manners and silence, for very 
few words were spoken by any of us, except by an old 
salt, Dave King, of Nantucket, who said, " Captain, we 
sailors have heard much of this new city, and the goings on 
there,, and have seen nothing, and, for one, I would like 
leave of absence for half a day to take a turn on shore, and 
I've do doubt many of my shipmates would join me in a 
cruise." 

The captain and mates stepped aside and conferred to- 
gether a few minutes, when they returned to us and said: 
" I will give you leave to go on shore watch and watch until 
all have had leave." When that was spoken every man of 
the crew sent up a hearty cheer for our generous captain 
and his able mates. 

When my turn came I made straight for the city, and 
looked about for a square meal. Provisions were at a higher 
price than in New York, but wages were many times higher, 
and so my dinner was costly. The restaurant, or hotel, was 
under a tent of cotton cloth, with boards only on one side. 
There were hundreds of such houses scattered about, with 
very little attempt at regularity. As for goods, they were 
piled in heaps on the ground in the open air, only the most 
valuable, or expensive, or perishable being in tents. It was 
said that very little was lost by theft. Thieving was too 
risky, for Judge Lynch had also come to California to stay 
awhile, and his stay meant business, as they say out there. 
The judge had many deputies, one of whom was sometimes 



NEW CREW. 365 

active when there was cheating at cards, but not to any 
great advantage to the community, for many a man was 
scooped out who had worked hard in the mines. Gambling 
and whisky were the great confederates for mischief to 
thoughtless men then, as they are now, just the same. 

I went to the post office in San Francisco, thinking there 
might be a letter for me, as every one else did, and, after 
waiting in the line for nearly two hours, found I was not 
honored. Many a man turned away from the office with- 
out letters with a very sad face, and some walked up and 
down as if they had lost their wits. Others would go out 
on the sand hills and watch for incoming vessels, hoping to 
have a letter with each arrival. 

In spite of all our good intentions, the desire for gold was 
too great, and we suffered the same depletion of our ranks, 
many having left the ship, leaving only two men and myself, 
and for this reason the Flying Cloud had to remain riding at 
anchor in the bay for upwards of two months before she 
could muster a crew. When at last we did get one, or rather 
a make-shift for one, old father Neptune would have been 
struck with astonishment and laughed to have seen such a 
motley gathering. Our new crew consisted of returning 
miners, who had been moderately successful in digging gold, 
and as we were bound to China they had conceived the idea 
that by making a detour by the way of the Celestial Em- 
pire, they might invest their treasure advantageously in the 
fabrics of the East, and thus augment their wealth. 

They were a rough-looking crowd, swarthy as Arabs; ren- 
dered so through constant exposure to the elements, and most 
independent in their bearing and manner, so much so that 
the utmost caution and forbearance on the part of the old 
crew, and more especially the officers, had to be exercised 
in order to make matters work smoothly, and at the same 
time maintain that discipline and obedience to orders so 
necessary to the safety of a ship at sea. 



HWj&fatitik. 




JIM BARNEY. 



367 



We were laden with a selected cargo suitable for the 
Chinese market, as well as some for the Sandwich Islands. 

We had, on finishing our lading, hauled off from the 
wharf, and dropped anchor in the bay a cable's length from 
shore, for the double purpose of bending sails, etc., and 
doing such work as was required preparatory to weighing 
anchor and receiving our new crew, and thus removing 
them from shore influences and the effects of whisky drink- 
ing. In a few days they became more docile and tractable. 




HINDOO COW AND CALF. 



With the crew aboard who had come alongside and leaped 
on deck, presenting a grotesque appearance, some with a 
brace of revolvers thrust in their belt, some with a revolver 
and a huge bowie knife or two, others with a stiletto in the 
back of their shirt in a sheath inside, and some with trousers 
tucked in their boots disclosing bowie knives and revolvers 
in their boot legs, and all with a determined, " devil-may- 
care" look in the eye. 

Our two days of sight-seeing (half a day for me) came to 



JIM BARNEY. 369 

an end, and with it the order to heave up anchor, and away 
we went across the wide Pacific. We were favored with 
both wind and weather, for it was neither hot nor cold, but 
just good for sailing, and for days together, and once for a 
week, we hardly made or shortened sail, or stirred tack 
sheet, or braces and halliards. Then we put the ship to 
rights, cleaned up everything, and had plenty of time for 
yarns, and there was the usual variety. One man in my 
watch had sailed to China three voyages for tea, and we 
had early in this voyage in the Flying Cloud made acquaint- 
ance and exchanged our experiences. He sailed out of 
Providence, Rhode Island, when tea was imported there 
almost to the exclusion of other ports in this country. 
India wharf is well known there now, but is no longer 
frequented by the tea trade. 

He said that he and his brother had saved up a little 
money, and decided to go into the country and buy a farm. 
So they went up into Cayuga county, in York State, 
and bought a hundred acres of cleared land, and nearly as 
much of wood lot; also tools of all sorts, such as was re- 
commended to them by the dealers, and some horses and 
other live-stock, of course including chickens, pigs, and all 
that. They went to work. His brother Ben married a 
daughter of a neighbor, and joined the church (hard-shell 
Baptist), but he, Jim, remained single. They made money, 
and also lots of fun for their neighbors, for their ways about 
the farm, and particularly in their management of horses, 
were shaped more or less, certainly more, by their experi- 
ence on shipboard, and their language never lost its 
nautical style. Jim said he often went to church meetings 
just to hear his brother tell his experience in religion, and 
to watch the effect of his language on the others of the 
congregation. After a few years he longed for the excite- 
ment of the seafaring life, and concluded to try a voyage or 
two, and this, on the Flying Cloud, was his second, at the end 



370 GOSPEL CRAFT. 

of which he was going up to the farm again. His description 
of the life of a farmer was interesting to nearly all of us, for 
nearly all in the fo'castle at that time had lived in cities and 
knew very little about the country, except that it was a place 
for growing cattle, hogs, chickens, corn and such things, and, 
of course, grass and cordwood. Jim opened on us a flood 
of light in such matters, and kept us willing listeners for 
hours at a time. He said they had a school library well 
stocked with books, and good ones, travels, biographies of 
great men, adventures by sea and land, and hosts of others, 
which were kept in a grist mill by a Mr. Kramer, a nice sort 
of a man who knew how to take toll, and also how to make 
a quiet little speech at church meetings. He was a blue 
Presbyterian. That little town of Brutus was divided 
among the Lord's shepherds as they choose the sailors for 
the watches on board ship. First came the Baptists, who 
took first choice, and proposed to charter the Ship of Zion 
altogether in their own interest ; next the Presbyte- 
rians, who were very rigid and particular as to whom they 
would admit to their launch, a sort of first-cabin set, 
with peculiar ideas as to the chart that the Great Cap- 
tain sailed by, meaning that they understood the route to 
Jordan and beyond was fixed, laid down, and could not 
be altered. After them came the Methodists, who were 
a little more generous in their notions about theological 
navigation, and held that the chart would always admit 
of sailing one or two points free. They had the largest, 
the most social and the loudest crew of all, whose weekly 
evening meetings for swapping yarns and general chin 
music, were always full of young folks who enjoyed the 
spirit of the place, and many of whom naturally fell in 
with the way of salvation as traveled there. The Meth- 
odists also had what they called a camp meeting in the 
woods, over in the town of Cato, a mile or two from the 
village in which the church was, and at that gathering 



372 GOSPEL CRAFT. 

every one who could used to attend, as to a sort of ex- 
tended picnic, kept up for a week or more. At such 
times there were large additions to the flock, for excitement 
ran high tide, and wind and weather favored. Last of all 
the Universalists had a share, which seemed to be odds and 
ends, culls, rejected samples, hard-to-suits, free-thinkers, 
and all sorts of people who would not be suited with the 
rules of the various sailing crafts at the other churches. 
They claimed to have a chart which allowed them to sail 
anywhere and everywhere, with a sure expectation of coming 
to port in good order and right side up Their meetings 
were not so largely attended as any of the others, but to 
judge from the conduct of those who stayed away from 
church, and others who attended a little while and then back- 
slid, the Universalists must have secretly included more 
than half of the people of the town. 

After a while — a few years — the Presbyterian church 
building burned, and they sold the site to the Roman Cath- 
olics, who built an edifice which is now doing its naviga- 
tion on an entirely different chart from all the others, taking 
sailing orders only from the head master at Rome. They 
make few converts or recruits for their crew from the people, 
and take as much care as possible to prevent losing those 
who come to them from Ireland and Germany. The dis- 
cipline on their craft is very much superior to that on the 
others, and as for sailing to the chart and by the compass 
they can hold their way with any of them, for the captain in 
charge, that is the priest, always has the power to alter the 
chart to suit each particular seaman or passenger, and if 
any one loses his reckoning a new clean log-book is supplied 
and he is encouraged to begin anew with his entries. 

Then there was another entirely different craft, captain 
and crew, who sailed under sealed orders, in a ship insured 
against breakers and all other dangers, with a charter made 
for the voyage, and guaranteed to be complete and efficient 



GOSPEL CRAFT. 373 

by a Captain William Miller, a Second Adventist. They 
set several days for starting on their voyage, but always 
found sufficient reasons for delaying their departure. This 
failure to even begin the voyage was a great disappointment 
to many who had sold their farms, or given them away, in 
expectation of the trip. 

Finally he described another crew of Gospel sailors who 
were very active, energetic and successful in gaining friends 
and recruits, drawing off many from the other ships, by de- 
sertion, openly or secretly. These last were called Spiritual- 
ists, not because of their use of spirits, but from the fact 
that they said the spirits used them to talk to friends and 
shipmates left behind when they went to Davy Jones' Locker. 
They used a new language which was composed of knocks, 
raps and guesses, and a company of them together would re- 
mind a sailor of a crew in a fo'castle with the mate and his 
watch dancing overhead and rattling things round rather 
lively on deck, instead of coming to the hatchway and call- 
ing as a regular officer would do. Howsoever, they got a 
good many passengers and a good crew, and are sailing with- 
out any chart at all, and apparently making as much if not 
more headway than any other craft. 

There were quite a number of smaller craft, such as 
smacks and doreys, cruising about, some with one or two at 
the oars, and others with a single one sculling away as if all 
the world depended on his getting somewhere. These 
carried various names at their top, such as Free-Will Bap- 
tists, Seventh Day Baptists, Wesleyan Methodists, Campbell- 
ites, and many others whose names are dimmed on memory's 
log. Jim said that he did not like the shipping articles of 
any of those officers, and, therefore, could never make up 
his mind to ship aboard of any one of Zion's fleet. He hoped 
he was sailing under a good captain, his conscience, which 
he endeavored to keep always in shipshape, and had no 
doubt when his hull was laid up as unseaworthy that he 



Honolulu. 375 

would meet with a good reception in the port to which all 
who tried their best to obey orders would bring up at last. 

Jim and I have sailed in very much the same sort of 
ship, and under similar orders so far, whatever we may do 
hereafter. 

The two thousand eight hundred miles from the Golden 
Gate to Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, were made in fourteen 
days without having once furled sails. Our captain traded 
for a day or two exchanging goods for native fruits and cash. 
Here I first tasted bread fruit, and liked it very much. It 
would be a great improvement on some of the stuff sold in 
our city bakeries for bread. In one respect at least bread 
fruit is safer to eat, for it is not loaded with marble-dust in 
the disguise of baking powder. We were told by a young 
man from Boston, who was living at Honolulu, that mission- 
aries had been established in the island about thirty years, 
and that changing from savage to civilized manners and cus- 
toms was very fatal to the natives. More than half the popu- 
lation of the island had vanished already. I heard wonder- 
ful stories of a great volcano to be seen in operation in the 
interior, but had not time enough to visit it. I have since 
read accounts of eruptions on a grand scale on Mauna Loa 
and Kilauea, and regret the more my inability to see them 
at the time of my visit to the islands. 

From Honolulu we steered for China, and as the sou'west 
monsoon was in season and blowing up the China Sea, we, in 
approaching the Asiatic coast and China, were obliged to make 
a land fall somewhere to the south'ard of the Philippine 
Islands, and thence hauling to the north'ard and west'ard get 
a weather-gauge in the China Sea, and making a leading 
wind out of the sou'west monsoon, but making a detour of 
nearly two thousand two hundred miles out of our course. 
We came to Hong Kong roads after a passage of sixty-three 
days from San Francisco, with light but favorable winds. 

At Hong Kong, as is usual and necessary I suppose, we 



HONG KONG. 



377 



remained nearly a week waiting for a permit for a pilot and 
a chop to proceed up to Whampoa. We beguiled our time 
watch and watch in going ashore and " doing the Chinese." 
On one occasion, when ashore, I was edified by the sight 
of seeing ten Chinamen being flogged by right and left- 
handed lascars with wiry rattans, giving the blows alternately, 
cutting into the flesh at every stroke in a horrible manner, 




CHINESE AMUSEMENT. 



the blood actually making a pool at their feet. They were 
fastened to a triangle eight feet high, the hands made fast 
to the upper horns and feet to the lower ones. In due time 
we hove up (as we had received our permits from the Chinese 
authorities), and, with a native pilot, arrived at Whampoa 
the same night, and moored ship. Next morning we unbent 
sails, discharged what cargo we had left in the hold, for 
there was little left after leaving so much at the Sandwich 
Islands. 



37^ CANTON. 

When discharged, we went through the usual processes 
of smoking and refitting, so fully described in former pages. 

Nine weeks we rode at our moorings atWhampoa, during 
which we discharged, refitted, smoked, and loaded, and 
when fully prepared for sea the crew were given a day's 
liberty to go up to Canton. 

It must be admitted that the Chinese have a fine sense of 
humor, as appears from the caricature engraved here, 
named "Chinese Amusement." We see an English (or a 
French) soldier in a cage, and two Mongolians inspecting 
him as we look at monkeys or rare birds. They may be 
supposed to say something like this: 

"I say, Lee, if my eye-glass does not deceive me, that 
is a rare bird. Notice his red coat, and fine feathers 
generally." 

"Ah, yes, it is true, it is a rare specimen, but see how 
sad and melancholy he looks, and, by the way, he does not 
sing. Poor fellow !" 

'' It has always been a wonder to me how these outside 
barbarians contrive to exist. They must be a miserable 
lot: all artificial, eyes, teeth, hair, legs, hands, everything 
artificial. Bah! let's go home and burn joss paper as a 
protection against evil demons." 

We were well paid for our day's tramp ashore in Canton, 
where there is much life and great activity. The next day 
the pilot came on board early; ship was unmoored with a 
will, for we were homeward bound, and, the wind being 
favorable that same night, we were breasting the billows of 
the China seas, heading for the Straits of Sunda and Anjer 
Point, where we dropped anchor and furled sails. 

We remained off Anjer two days, bartering in the usual 
style for monkeys, birds, and other curiosities. The ship 
recruited with yams, fruits, joggery, and sweet potatoes, 
poultry, eggs, etc. When we had gotten through with our 
shopping, orders were issued from the quarter-deck to 



3 8o 



CANTON. 




weigh and make sail, and in a few hours were standing out 
of the straits towards the mighty Indian Ocean under a 
pyramid of canvas, and with a fresh easterly gale after us. 
Clear of the land, we, with her head at sou'west by west, 

went a kiting toward 
the Cape of Good 
Hope at a lively gait. 
We carried this favor- 
able wind, passing to 
the south'ardof Mau- 
ritius, the Isle de 
France, Reunion, and 
Isle Bourbon, thence 
to the Cape, where we 
were suddenlybrought 
up by a succession of 
heavy westerly gales, 
which, after blowing 
themselves tired, soon 
merged into the sou'- 
east trades, which we carried up to 12 north latitude and 
50 west longitude. The sou'east wind then merg >d into 
the northeast tradewinds, until, in the month of March, we 
approached Cape Hatteras. As we neared that much 
dreaded promontory, the mackerel "scales and bears' tails 
that make lofty ships carry low sails," filled the sky, and 
we kept well to the east'ard to get an offing. All that 
night we steered to the north'ard and east'ard under snug 
canvas. Next morning the wind begun to pipe from the 
east'ard and to increase in force, until, at twelve, it had in- 
creased to a living gale, accompanied with a corresponding 
reduction of canvas on our part, until just before dark, we 
wore and stood to the south'ard on the port tack under 
close-reefed topsail, reefed foresail, and fore-topmast stay- 
sail, distant from Sandy Hook by dead reckoning eighty 



WELCOME TO CANTON. 



382 JENNY LIND. 

miles, and bearing nor'west by west. We stood to the 
south'ard until 12 m., when the wind commenced to veer to 
the southeast, then we wore ship, and stood to the north'ard, 
and made sail, shaking two reefs out of the topsails, reef out 
of foresail, and kept on to the north'ard and east'ard until 
4 a. m., when we gave her the jib and mainsail at day- 
break, spoke a pilot-boat, hove to and received a pilot. 
Soon after, weather moderating, took a tug, clewed and 
furled all our canvas, by 2 o'clock p. m. were put alongside 
the wharf in the East river, and soon had her hard and 
fast. 

We were paid off two days after, and, as I had determined 
before leaving on this my last voyage that it should be the 
last, I sought and soon obtained employment as a rigger in 
the U. S. Navy Yard at Brooklyn, N. Y., where I remained 
one year and six months. 

Soon after I got to work in the Navy Yard my brother 
became somewhat enthusiastic about the singing of Jenny 
Lind, the Swedish nightingale. He did not invest a forune 
in a first ticket as was done by Ossian E. Dodge, a humorist 
of the old school, but took two back seats, and gave me one 
of them. The music must have been divine, for that was 
the universal verdict, and excepting a few right jolly 
choruses in the fo'castle, which I could name, it was the 
best vocal music I ever heard. The interior of Castle 
Garden, where she sang in 1851, has changed very much, 
and music of a very different kind is heard there now. A 
chorus of voices from all the oppressed people of Europe, 
not quite tuned to our free airs, and somewhat inclined to 
the discord of anarchy, but generally good strong tones 
that will soon swell out Uncle Sam's lungs, so when he 
speaks there will be respectful listeners on both sides the 
big waters. 

And now, dear readers, who have accompanied me in my 
nautical career from the time that, full of enthusiasm and 



gws 







384 IMPROVEMENTS. 

proud of being able to explain the difference between a 
ship and any other craft, I stowed away aboard of the 
General Hetvitt, and with fear and trembling was brought 
as a stowaway before the dreaded tribunal of the^ captain 
and others, but which ended in my being installed (to me 
at that time) in an enviable position of part and portion of 
her crew, up to the present when an old seasoned salt I am 
discharged from the Flying Cloud, married, and engaged in 
a shore-going occupation, but yet connected with what has 
been "my home on the ocean wave," I will say farewell! 
Years have elapsed between the time I ceased to follow the 
sea for a livelihood and my writing this my autobiography. 
Many and great have been the changes in terms as well as 
methods of navigation, and these mechanical changes are, 
I suppose, improvements. Men — that is to say, seamen — 
have changed as well as manners, but the sea remains the 
same, and I have felt while writing almost as if my youth 
had returned once more. 

When I determined to leave the domain of "Father 
Neptune " and take up my quarters on terra firma, I took 
to myself a mate, as I have said before, made her my first 
mate, and have sailed in the same craft with her ever since, 
and if it will not be displeasing to my readers I propose to 
write up a few items of our log. In accord with the custom 
of society I suppose it will be in order to introduce her to 
you, my reader, and here she is — look at her. My first and 
only mate, my sheet anchor, my ballast, and in every way 
useful to me as pilot and sailing master. I am excitable, 
quick as a flash; she is quiet, slow to anger, and very 
deliberate in all she says and does. When I storm and 
rage, like the ocean torn with the winds on a lee shore, she 
is quiet and firm as a rock, with a face as smiling as the 
rose-tinted clouds in the morning sunlight, and as worthy of 
respect, and you know a sailor in a ship on a lee shore has 
the most profound respect for the solid rocks thereof. 



FIRST MATE. 



385 



If I was sometimes fortunate at sea, I have been more so 
on land. But I must not say too much lest I be suspected 
of spooning, and that would be unpardonable in an old salt 
like me. However, it is her due, and if it is not the correct 
thing to refer to her directly, it may be in better form to 
say as much indirectly. She has given me two copies of 
herself, daughters, who stowed all her good qualities with- 
out mixing any of my crudeness. One of them sailed away 
over the unknown sea a few years since, but the other re- 
mains, and is the sunshine of my declining 
years. Her little George (seven) is my 
middy, and I hope will continue my name 
long after my old hulk has gone to pieces. 
Her little girl (eleven years) left us sud- 
denly, almost without warning, this summer, 
and went up aloft, where we can at present 
only know her in our silent moments. One 
can do no more than wonder at the mys- 
tery of life, and vainly ask why is it that I 
am spared by time when such young 
life is ended ? All we can say is, with 
the poet Wordsworth : 



Thus Nature spake — the 

work was done — 
How soon my Lucy's race 

was run ! 
She died, and left to me 
This home, this calm and 

quiet scene, 
The memory of what has 

been, 
And never more will be." 



There is one more 
whom I must not 
forget. He was 
brought to me by my 
surviving daughter, 
and will remain, I 




MY FIRST MATE. 



386 MY BROTHERS. 

fondly hope or ner sake, to be her protector when I am 
called to do duty elsewhere. He is one of Nature's noble- 
men. Strong in body and mind, quiet, conscious of his 
power, and kind-hearted as ever was formed. Sometimes 
my old sailor notions lead me to criticise his, as it seems to 
me, boyish ways, as I have in the matter of dancing at balls 
and parties, when he calmly listens to what I say, or shout, 
as it may be, for in a storm a sailor must shout to be heard, 
and he answers not. He is wiser in his day than I in mine, 
and I am glad of it. But I must not tire you by imposing 
more of my private affairs on your kind indulgence. 

I have spoken of myself as a " Sea Wanderer," and cor- 
rectly so, for I am of a family of wanderers. Only this last 
spring I received a letter from Australia, dated Victoria, 
April 8, and written at the Woolshed gold-diggings by my 
brother Alfred, in which he says: "Brother Henry is in 
Derby, Western Australia, from which place he wrote me, 
January 2 2d last. The mail is carried there once a month. 
Truly he is on the utmost confines of civilization, among 
bushmen, and even there, eighty miles from a post office," as 
he writes. 

The old proverb says, " A rolling stone gathers no moss," 
and we three brothers have been rolling stones. But then 
we did not want any moss. We live in the present moment, 
this world, and our motto is, "One world at a time." Live 
while you may live is an old Roman saying which animated 
the great Caesar's legions. And yet it cannot truthfully be 
said that I have no moss. My early education was limited 
by my going to sea at the very time I might have gone to 
college, and when the store of knowledge left us by the 
ancient Greeks and Romans had been but dimly seen by me 
in the distance, as something to be gained and enjoyed in 
after years. I fondly expected that a seaman would have 
many hours of leisure in which I could read and complete 
what had been merely begun in the schools of Montreal. I 



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.1*1X1 



388 KING ALCOHOL. 

knew a little of Julius Caesar as the conqueror of ancient 
France (Gaul), and of the Rhine Germans, and of the poets 
of the Augustan age at Rome. Of the Greek authors much 
less is possible to the young student, and I had barely 
gone through the grammar and first reader. But I had 
tasted the sweets of the fountain of knowledge, and had a 
thirst for more, and that thirst, or desire, to know more 
about the world of men and things around us has been a 
monitor and help in many a time of trial and temptation. 

The great enemy of every sailor is " King Alcohol," how- 
ever he may operate, whether as whisky, rum, gin, brandy, 
or the finely sweetened and perfumed liquors and cordials; 
his work is deceitful, alluring, disappointing, and, if per- 
sisted in, always brings disaster, if not premature death. 
No man can bear up under more than a moderate amount 
of the poison. I say poison, for I do not believe it is in 
any way a food. It has often wrought great mischief for 
me, in loss of time, impaired health, loss of respect of 
superiors, and of many sums of money, spent for liquor, or 
stolen from me when my reason was stupified, and I was at 
the mercy (?) of the first rascal who happened to spy me and 
my condition. As I am not a temperance advocate, but 
simply a biographer, I suppose it would be out of place to 
say more on this head. This I do know, many a fine young 
seaman among my shipmates has been drowned in alcohol 
whom the ocean storms had spared. So it must be con- 
fessed that I found very little leisure on board for reading 
or study of any kind, except to ruminate on the day's doings, 
or to estimate the character of my shipmates or officers from 
time to time. Since leaving the sea my studies, so far as 
reading may go, have been continued. I try to keep up in 
everything relating to the sea, and, in so doing, read nearly 
every book that appears on that subject One recently pub- 
lished has given me much entertainment, and also a vast 
amount of instruction in nautical matters. I never knew 



NEW BOOKS. 389 

before how easy it is to spoil a born nobleman by a position 
before the mast, nor did I ever dream that it was possible 
to navigate vessels against the rules formed from experi- 
ence, and in spite of the charts and the elements. I learned 
also how a young seaman may sometimes unwittingly stumble 
into the acquaintance and good graces of Her Majesty's 
high functionaries, and also be one of a small band of 
heroic adventurers who may rescue a lost and forlorn 
damsel from under the very eyelids of the awful Turk, 
and find in her a long lost playmate of early childhood. 
Many other lessons I learned, of which, in courtesy to a 
fellow-seaman, I hesitate to speak, except to acknowledge 
my indebtedness for new and peculiar information. Had 
the book appeared a little sooner it would have given me a 
hint for the management of my story, when, instead of simply 
telling of my errors, the blame for them might have been 
laid on some other shoulders, while my successes could have 
been credited to myself alone. But it is now too late to 
mend such matters, for my story is written, and must be 
submitted as it is. I have been employed in all parts of a 
vessel, from the fo'castle to the cabin, but must say that I 
have found more true manliness, courage, and humanity in 
the fo'castle than in the cabin. The cabin has in too many 
cases had a demoralizing effect on those who were suddenly 
elevated to rank and power, and allowed the weeds of pride, 
arrogance, contempt of inferiors, if not also an indifference 
to suffering and the value of life to the seaman, to grow 
instead of the more beautiful plants of brotherly love, love 
of humanity, and considerate kindness to fellow man. 

There is no place better fitted for bringing out a man's 
true character than the cabin. At sea the captain and 
officers are kings and princes, and owe no man allegiance, 
and are seldom brought to account for any conduct however 
atrocious short of actual murder. Far away from the re- 
straints of society ashore the inner self expands into a noble, 



390 HOME PORT. 

manlike Depeyster, or develops into a monster, such as was 
Cornish or Huntington. 

These words of the poet Cowper apply to the sea as well 
as to the land : 



" I would not enter on my list of friends 
(Though graced with polished manners and fine sense, 
Yet wanting sensibility) the man 
Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm. 
An inadvertent step may crush a snail 
That crawls at evening in the public path; 
But he that has humanity, forewarnM 
Will tread aside, and let the reptile live." 



A little of the missionary work that is so generously off ered 
to Jack in bethels in many ports might safely be diverted 
from the inmates of the fo'castle to the occupants of the 
cabin, where the teachings derived from the life and words 
of the Great Teacher and the apostles might be better un- 
derstood on account of early training in books and later 
association with well-bred people ashore, where the officers 
usually reside in the best hotels. This little biography may 
help in some small degree to call attention to seamen, for 
whom even now much more is said and done than when I 
was before the mast, and yet much more remains to be 
done. 

My home port is in sight, and I have only to run into 
harbor, round to and end the voyage. If my reader has fol- 
lowed me so far it will probably appear that I have written 
frankly, without reserve or bitterness. I have some friends 
whom I prize as my own self, and many acquaintances who 
greet me, bluff and salty as I suppose it should be said, with 
a hearty good will and outstretched hamd; these all know 
me at first hand. The greater community can only know me 
through the lines of my book, where I have intended to 
leave myself between the lines without concealment or gloss. 
Happy and contented in my surroundings I live at peace 
with all, and with the poet I can say: 



DROP ANCHOR. 39 1 

" So life glides smoothly and by stealth away 
More golden than that age of fabled gold 
Renowned in ancient song; not vex'd with care 
Or stain'd with guilt, benificent, approved 
Of God and man, and peaceful in its end. 
So glide my life away ! and so, at last, 
My share of duties decently fulrill'd, 
May some disease, not tardy to perform 
Its destined office, yet with gentle stroke, 
Dismiss me weary to a safe retreat." 

Nature while dealing impartially with me has dealt gently. 
My eye still perceives the rising spars on the distant horizon 
at sea; I hear and delight in music and the prattle of little 
children, and the pleasures of the table remain and good 
digestion waits on a keen appetite. 

However much I should enjoy writing about my affairs on 
land, I feel that they have no place here, and that 

" My task is done — my song hath ceased — my theme 

Hath died into an echo; it is fit 
The spell should break of this protracted dream. 
The torch shall be extinguished which hath lit 

My midnight lamp— and what is writ is writ. 

Would it were worthier ! but I am not now 

That which I have been — and my visions flit 

Less palpably before me — and the glow 
Which in my spirit dwelt is fluttering, faint, and low." 



DROP ANCHOR. 



THE SEA WANDERER. 



393 




t. Flying jib. 

2. Jib. 

3. Foretop-mast-stay sail. 

4. Fore sail. 

5. Foretop sail. 

6. Foretop-gallant sail. 

7. Fore-royal. 

8. Fore sky sail. 

9. Royal studding sail. 

10. Foretop-gallant studding sail. 

11. Foretop-mast studding sail. 

12. Main sail. 

13. Maintop sail. 







|5= 


*5«" ^^B>3^jjjjSs^^*5^~-**" 


14- 


Maintop-gallant sail. 


IS- 


Main-royal. 


16. 


Main sky sail. 


*7- 


Main-royal studding sail. 


18. 


Maintop-gallant studding sai 


19. 


Maintop-mast studding sail. 


20. 


Crossjack. 


21. 


Crossjack-top sail. 


22. 


Crossjack-top-gallant sail. 


2 3- 


Crossjack-royal. 


24. 


Crossjack sky sail. 


25. 


Spanker. 




A MEXICAN. 



Chapter XV. 

" It is with narrow-souled people as with narrow-necked bottles — the less they 
have in them the more noise they make in pouring it out." — Pope. 

After reading a captain's book on the same topic as mine, 
recently published, and enjoying many a hearty laugh at 
and over it and him, I feel moved as if by a familiar breeze 
to sail into him. But on second thought I only owe him for 
a litrie exquisite pleasure which is genuine, and cannot com- 
plain of the want of seamanship noticeable in the little 
volume for that is not genuine, and of course I don't owe 
him for that. I only said Oh ! when I read the funny 
and stupid passages and so paid my debt to the captain. 
Not all, however, for I shall eternally owe him for a sug- 
gestion as to story telling, which is the occasion for this 
supplementary chapter, a sort of fifteenth amendment. If 
my readers wish to be prepared beforehand as to the char- 
acter of the stories I tell, it will be well to read the editor's 
book drawer in Harper's for August, where the Supreme 
Mugwump expresses in very considerate language his want 
of confidence in the captain's story telling integrity. In 
my nautical experience many incidents happened that were 
so unusual, or so outrageous that I hesitated to even mention 
them, but as I said before, the captain has given me the 
lead, and we all must take off our cap to him, and I will 
now record one or two stories which, although they may 
seem tough, yet I will vouch for their truth and accuracy, 
for my memory is good and my courage still equal to any 
emergency. 

In the old time before the war there was racing on the 
lower Mississippi between high pressure boats, both small 
and large. At such times the excitement ran high, and from 
the captain to the commonest roustabout negro all were alive 
to the fun. Horse racing was very tame and flat compared 



396 RACING ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 

with the matching of two steamers. Rivals, such as boats 
from St. Louis and Memphis, or from any other city along 
the river had the habit of racing whenever they fell in com- 
pany going down or up the river. As soon as one came up 
with the other, at a wood landing, or at some city levee, 
they would whistle a defiant challenge, and when the lines 
were cast off they would swing out into the stream amid the 
cheers of the crowd on shore and the hurrahs and yells of 
all on board. 

Then the fun began. Wood was crowded under the 
boilers, and as anxiety increased, or the other boat gained a 
little, or perhaps was actually disappearing around the next 
bend ahead, the mate would suggest to the captain that may 
be a few hams or a barrel of pork would raise the head of 
steam, and in they would go. Of course the owner of the 
pork might be on board, and if he was he would be consulted, 
but the usual result was, "All right, captain, keep up steam 
if it takes the whole d cargo." 

But in a prolonged race even the hams and pork might 
give out, when it became a very serious matter. A consul- 
tation was had around the barrel of whiskey which was sure 
to be on tap on deck, and was freely distributed without 
money or price. " I say, captain," the mate opens with, 
" we are running short of fuel The wood is just about 
out, the hams and pork gone long ago, and there is only 
one resort left. What do you say ?" The captain nods 
to the mate and says, "Aye, aye, sir, it is a trying time. 
Col. Cotton, what do you say to the situation ? Hear the 
infernal wretches over there on the other boat cheering and 
hurrahing as if to split their throats. They are only half a 
length ahead anyhow. If we only had a little more fuel 
now of a lively kind we would give them a stern chase. 
Hey, colonel, what's your opinion." 

" Captain, if a couple of niggers will help you out don't 
hesitate on my account." 



RACING ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 



397 



Of course modesty and humanity compels me to draw a 
vail over the incident here. I never did delight in cruelty, 
nor in the race of life would I crush even a worm intention- 
ally. If the worm crawls under my foot of his own accord 
— then its all day with the worm. And if a couple of boxers 
choose to stand up and pound each other to a jelly, why 
should I not see the fun, if I pay for my ticket and cheer the 
winner of the "friendly contest?" So if a gentlemanly cap- 
tain chooses to make a laughing stock of himself why should 
I not enjoy the fun? 

In the racing on the Mississippi sometimes a steamer blew 
up. Such an incident did not cause a very great commo- 
tion. Very little was said about it in the newspapers. It 
was an item of news, and among the owners the occasion of 
the remark, "There goes another boat; I say, Jim, there is 
very little news in the paper this morning." 




THE CAT IN GLOVES WILL CATCH NO MICE 



39^ GENTLEMANLY CAPTAINS. 

Speaking of gentlemanly captains, or sailing masters, those 
who dress in the fashion of land lubbers wear a gold watch 
and stunning watch chain, with a number of hangers to it, 
kid gloves and it may be patent leather boots or shoes, they 
have their uses and their places. One such was on the Mo- 
hawk as sailing master, and in a trying moment, not being a 
tried seaman hoisted a jib and foresail when her nose was 
held down by the anchor and the inevitable result was a cap- 
size, and Commodore Garner and his friends were drowned 
like puppies. 

A rough old seaman in a red shirt might have — would 
have been sure to have avoided the disaster by making after 
sail until the anchor was broke out. 

While we were lying at Whampoa, in the upper reach, with 
other American vessels (the lower reach being assigned to 
English and other vessels), an incident happened which, if 
it did not actually begin, very much hastened the beginning 
of the first opium war between China and England. It is 
the custom for Chinese sanpans to hang arou d foreign ves- 
sels and after nightfall to smuggle various articles on board 
and on shore, snapping their fingers at the revenue officers 
both ways. One of these almost nightly happenings resulted 
in a fatal accident and caused a great commotion. A san- 
pan was moored under the bows of an East Indiaman and 
sending up kegs and jugs of sam-shu, the native unrectified 
liquor, when a careless sailor dropped a jug on the head of 
a Chinaman and killed him. 

The government took notice of the matter and demanded 
a sacrifice of a life for a life, which of course was refused. 

Soon after that, say within a week, two British seamen, 
having gone ashore, on a day's leave from the Alliance, 
were seized by a mob of Whampoans who beat them with 
bamboos until they were lifeless and literally pounded to a 
mass. It would be impossible to describe the excitement 
among British seamen, and also through sympathy among 



CHINESE REVENGE. 399 

the Americans, over this outrage. If any considerable num- 
ber of either of them could have got ashore about that time 
there would have been "bloody revenges." But officers 
were very cautious, and no serious affair happened then. 
Not long afterward, however, excitement ran wild among the 
Chinese over the opium quarrel. The trade had been inter- 
dicted by Commissioner Lin in November of the year be- 
fore, and about the last of February, 1835, the Chinese 
burnt over 20,000 packages of opium at Canton. One of the 
scenes that were very entertaining to foreigners in Canton, 
was the punishment inflicted on the poor wretches who were 
detected in smuggling opium. The victims were placed one 
by one between thick planks of camphor wood, and by an 
arrangement of cords in many pairs, which were twisted by 
sticks, the offending smuggler was squeezed flat as a pan- 
cake. It might be well for Mayor Hewitt to consider if this 
would not be a certain and sure punishment for the opium 
joint disease, or crime, whichever the Board of Aldermen of 
New York may declare it to be. It would always prevent a 
repetition of the offense. Offenders of a lower degree were 
treated to a species of tight cravat, which was equally as 
effective as the camphor wood corset. The man was stood 
with his back to a stout post about eight feet high, small 
cords bound his hands and feet to the post, when a strong 
cord was put around his neck and the post and twisted by a 
stick behind. A pair of strong men heaving on the stick 
very soon severed the head and reduced the number of 
smugglers by one. 

In the river Choo-Kiang, about a mile below the city of 
Canton (which the natives call Sang Ching, provincial city), 
lies an island of about an acre and a half, lifted originally a 
few feet above the water, and later by a generous contribu- 
tion of the " High and Mighty States General of Holland " 
raised much higher to the eye by a fine military wall. The 
whole story is this: The Dutch coveted possession of Can- 



400 DUTCH FOLLY. 

ton and tried by a clever ruse to get a foothold On the little 
island. They got a grant of the island on condition of build- 
ing a hospital, and set to work really to make a strong fort. 
When the walls were complete they shipped from Holland 
the guns, ammunition, etc., in large casks, which were light- 
ered at Whampoa into sanpans, and run up to the island, 
where they were hoisted over the walls by means of huge 
derricks and tackles. This was a cleverly contrived scheme 
and would have succeeded but for one little accident, as 
will presently appear. 

The Chinese government is managed on scientific princi- 
ples, and that means observe all things but trust nobody. So 
a government inspector was detailed to keep watch of the 
Dutch and see that nothing which the treaty, or permit, did 
not specify should be landed. The Dutch had been taken 
by a Hollander this time, in the shape of a dishonest or un- 
faithful cooper, for one of the heads of a cask fell out and 
the inspector saw a gun where he was led to suppose there 
should be hospital stores. " Hi yah! " exclaimed the as'on- 
ished mandarin, " how can sickee man yam gun? " (How 
can a sick man eat guns?) Sure enough. And the inspector 
reported but the guns did not. No report was ever heard 
from them although they went off. They were ordered off, 
and the order was being carried out when I was on my first 
trip to Canton. As we pulled up stream fi teen miles from 
Whampoa, just before reaching the island, one of the boat's 
crew explained and we saw the evacuation going on. So to 
this day that island is known as the Dutch Folly. 

The camphor wood corset would be a great addition to 
the tortures inflicted in our prisons, almshouses and insane 
asylums. The whipping post in Delaware might be improved 
by the Chinese tight cravat attachment (not patented), which 
would vary the monotony of the public exhibition and draw 
larger crowds. The thieves and pickpockets of both sexes 
would cheerfully contribute to the cost of making the addi- 



GOVERNOR MOSES. 4OI 

tion, for it would immensely increase their incomes, or in 
other words, it would raise the wind. To consider the hu- 
manity in the case is not essential, for very few connected 
with the prisons, almshouses, sheriff's office, or the lunatic 
asylums would known anything about what is meant by hu- 
manity. This is a practical age, and the duffers who occu- 
py, without filling, the offices in those institutions should be 
sent to school for instruction in what constitutes human na- 
ture and a proper regard for it. 

In Charleston, S. C, I was handsomely treated. My duff 
was abundant, my grog unlimited, my sleeping quarters fine, 
and all paid for by the generous father of Governor Moses, 
whom I have mentioned before. I was also permitted to go 
about the city as I liked, and among other places sailed into 
the entrance-hall and reading room of the City Hotel, where 
my friend Moses took me to dine. There was much loud 
talking about the Seminole war among the fire-eating South- 
erners, and I picked up items of adventure enough there 
and then which, if they could have been realized into the 
service of Uncle Sam, would have exterminated the entire 
Indian race from the continent. I knew that British sailors 
could brag and boast of their ability to eat alive any num- 
ber of American sailors when enjoying the comforting as- 
surance of space surroundings, but the stories told by white 
men fighting Indians beat all records. The ancient Greeks 
were the braggarts of the world in their day, but as a modest 
Canadian I must say that the climate of the United States 
develops a peculiar species of the family of yarn-spinners 
that will some day be classified by a professor of natural his- 
tory as a new genus of mankind, in which we will find Eli 
Perkins, Bill Nye, Col. Tom Ochiltree and Captain Suddenly 
Superior named as brilliant specimens. And as a sub-genus 
he will head the list by a yarner imported from service in 
the British navy and domesticated in the United States. 
The label on the new sub-genus will be C. S. S., which 



4-02 SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. 

will indicate (like the well advertised specific S. S. S.) that 
it is a sure and sudden specific for melancholia, affecting the 
risibilities very much as a spark stirs up gunpowder. 

This is a young country when we measure it by important 
men's lives. I had a call to-day from a man who was born 
two years before the new government of the United States 
was organized. He was hale and hearty, and offered his 
service in curing several ills which afflict my friends. I very 
seldom suffer anything but hunger. But his remedy for 
rheumatism suggests one that I recommended to Sir John A. 
Macdonald, who is appointed to succeed Lord Lansdowne 
as Premier of the Dominion of Canada. Here is his letter: 

Earnscliff, Ottawa, 

15th June, 1886. 
Dear Sir: 

You will think me very ungrateful for not acknowledging ere this 
your kind letter of the 24th March, last, offering me a remedy for sciatica. 
At the time I was suffering a good deal but have recovered under 
your treatment, which has completely relieved me. In consequence of my 
illness I have allowed my correspondence to get very much in arrears, 
which is my excuse for not replying to you before. 

With many thanks for your thoughtfulness in writing me on the sub- 
ject, believe me, Yours faithfully, 

(Signed) John A. Macdonald. 
To George Davis, Esq., 
Paterson, N. Jersey. 

And now in closing, after having proved my ability to re- 
lieve if not cure a very distressing malady., I modestly offer 
my services to Captain Suddenly Superior to mitigate if not 
entirely assuage what may yet prove, like a boomerang, a 
very distressing case of chin-music, complicated with cacoe- 
t/ies scribendi and the delight of seeing his name in print. 

I am happy to be able to bear witness to the truth of my 
previous assertion, that after searching a vessel from the 
forecastle to the cabin the best seamen are almost invariably 
found before the mast. I began my sailorizing in the cabin 
of the General Hewitt, but I finished it an able seaman in 
the fo'castle. 



GLOSSARY OF SEA TERMS 

AND 

NAMES OF THE PARTS OF A SHIP AND THE RIGGING. 



Abaft, Aft. — Part near the stern. To carry anything aft is to take it 
toward the stern. The mast rakes aft, that is, slants toward the 
stern. How cheer ye fore and aft? That is, how is the ship's 
company. 

Aloft, Above — In the upper parts of the rigging. 

Aloof. — At a distance. Keep aloof; that is, keep at a distance. 

Amain. — Done suddenly by a number of men. 

Anchor. — The combination of iron hook and bar of wood used to hold a 
ship, to which it is made fast by a cable. 

Apeek. — The yards topped up like an X. 

Athwart. — Across. 

Avast. — Stop. Avast heaving (anchor) ; that is, don't heave any more. 

Awning. — Canvas, or wood boards, spread high over the decks as a 
shelter from sun, rain, and wind. The awning is spread or furled. 

IB- 
Bale. — To bale a boat is to throw water out of her. 
Ballast. — Any heavy things used to load the ship to keep her steady in 
the water. Gravel is called shingle ballast. To trim the ballast, is to 
spread it about even, or in proper places. The ballast shoots when 
it shifts or slides out of place to one side or the other of the hold, to 
prevent which boards are lashed to the midships stanchions. 
Barge. — Small boat, used with twelve oars or a lesser number. 
Batten. — To nail battens of thin boards over the tarpaulins on the 
hatches in bad weather, to prevent their being blown or washed off. 
Bearing. — Point of compass from one place to another. A place may 
bear on the beam, abaft the beam, on the bow, head, stern, etc., 
when seen in a direction over or beyond those points. 
Bearings of a ship, is the line on the hull at the surface of the water. 
To bear to, is to sail into a harbor. Bear round up, is to sail right 
before the wind. To bring your guns to bear is to point them at 
some object. 



396 GLOSSARY. 

Bearing-up, or bearing away, is changing the course of a ship, so as to 
run before the wind after she had sailed sometime with a side wind, 
or close-hauled 

BELAY, is to make fast any running rope. Belay the main brace, is to 
make it fast. 

Beneaped. — A ship is said to be beneaped when she has not water 
enough to go over a bar. 

Bend. — To tie to, to fasten ; as bend the sails, meaning apply them to 
the yards and fasten them. Unbend the sails, is to cast them off the 
yards. The ship's sails unbent, means that no sails are set. Bend 
the cable, or make it fast to the anchor 

Berth. — A place usually to rest in. Sailor's or officer's berth, where he 
eats or sleeps. The ship's berth is where she is moored. To berth 
a ship's company, is to allot them their places to mess (eat) in. To 
berth the hammocks, is to assign their places in which to hang. 

Bight of a rope, is any part between the two ends. It is also a narrow 
inlet from the sea. 

Bilge, is to break, as said of a ship's planks. Bilge water, is water that 
has leaked into the hold. 

Binnacle. — A box to protect the compass on deck. 

Bitts. — Large timbers in the bow to which the cables are fastened when 
the ship is at anchor. After bitts, smaller timbers on the quarter- 
deck for belaying the running rigging. 

Block. — Wheels in a frame of wood or iron, through which cords or 
ropes travel. 

Bonnet of a sail, is an additional piece of canvas put to a sail to make it 
hold more wind. Lace on the bonnet, is to fasten it to the sail. 
Shake off the bonnet, is to take it off. 

Board, is to go on a ship. Board and board, is when two ships touch 
each other. To make a board, is to make a stretch on any tack 
when a ship is working (sailing) on a wind. To board it up, is to 
turn to windward. The ship has made a stern-board when it has 
fallen astern, or lost way against a wind. 

Bolt-rope. — The rope which goes round a sail, to which the canvas is 
sewed. 

Bowlines. — Lines made fast to the leaches of the sails to haul them for- 
ward when on a wind, which being hauled taut enables the ship to 
come nearer the wind. 

Bowsprit. — Piece of timber standing out at the bow of a ship. 

Braces. — Ropes by which the yards are turned to form the sails to the 
Jtlnd. 



GLOSSARY. 397 

Broach-to, is when a ship on a sudden lays her broadside to the sea, 
which is a dangerous position in bad weather. 

Break-bulk. — To open the hold and take goods out. 

Bulk-head. — A partition. 

BUNTLINES. — Lines that come down from above the yard forward of 
the sail to the foot, by which the bunt or belly of the sail is hauled up 
outwards. 

BUOY. — A float to mark the position of rocks, shoals, sand-bars, anchors, 
etc. Many kinds. Cone-buoy: nun-buoy, tapering from a large 
middle to a point either way; cable-buoy, empty cask to buoy up a 
cable in a rocky anchorage; life-buoy, used to support persons who 
have fallen in the water until a boat can be supplied. To stream 
the buoy, is to let it fall by the ship's side into water before letting 
the anchor go. 

Buoy-rope. — The rope which fastens the buoy to an anchor. 

O. 

Call. — A silver pipe used by the boatswain and his mates, when on 

duty, to call the men. 
Capsize. — Overturn, overset. To turn over a coil of rope. 
Capstan. — The windlass by which the anchor is weighed, sails or shrouds 

set up, and any other heavy work in hauling is done. 
Careening, — To turn a ship over on one side, so as to get at the other 

side to repair or clean her. 
Catheads. — Timbers on ship's bows, with sheaves in them by which 

the anchor is purchased from the hawse, and to which it is secured. 
Catfall. — Rope used to hoist the anchor to the cathead. Fish-tackle. 
Caulking. — Filling the ship's seams with oakum and pitch. 
Chace. — A pursuit. To chase another vessel. 
Chains. — A place projecting from the sides of a ship, where the shrouds 

are fastened, to give them a greater angle and power to steady the 

mast. 
Chain-plates. — Plates of iron to hold the dead-eyes under the chains. 
Clew. — To haul up the sails by the clewlines. 
Clewlines — Ropes through quarter-blocks underneath a yard to haul 

up the clews (corners) of the sails. 
Cobbing. — Slapping. 
Come no near, — Is said by the man at the cun when the ship is on a 

wind and is coming too near the wind. 
Coxswain. — He who steers a boat. 
Crank. — The ship is crank when she has not enough cargo or ballast to 

sail without oversetting 



398 GLOSSARY. 

Crowfoot, is a number of small lines spread from the fore parts of the 
tops through a piece of wood, hauled taut on the stays, to prevent 
the foot of the topsails catching on the top rim. They are also used 
to suspend awnings. 

Cun. — To direct the ship, or tell the man at the wheel the course. 

ID. 

Deadeyes. — Blocks of wood, bound with a rope or iron band, through 

which the lanyards or shrouds are reeved. 
Deadwater. — The eddy water at the stern. 
Deadwind. — Wind ahead against the ship. 
Dog-vane. — Small vane of cork and feathers near the wheel, to show 

the wind's course. 
Dog-watch. — Watch from 4 to 6 and from 6 to 8, evening. 
Douse. — To haul down, or strike, or lower a sail. 
Down-haul. — The rope by which any sail is hauled down. 
Drive. — The ship drives when the wind causes her to drag the anchor. 
Driver. — A large sail set on the mizzen-mast in light winds. 

IE- 
Elbow in THE Hawse. — When the tide has sent the ship around the 
anchors and crossed the cables, it is said to have crossed; when 
three such crossings occur it is called a round turn. 
End for End — When a rope runs out a block and is unreeved, and 

also when a cable runs out, or slips, it is gone end for end. 
Ensign. — The flag at the stern, or spanker gaff end. 
Entering-port. — A large port-hole in man-of-war. 

Fack, or Fake. — One circle of a rope or cable, when coiled. 

Fall-off. — To fall to leeward or astern. 

Fjd. — A square bar of wood or iron with shoulders above end, used to 
support the weight of the topmast at the head of a lower mast. 

FlD.— Marline spike (iron) for splicing ropes by separating the strands. 
It is round, an inch or more thick, eight or ten inches long, tapering 
to a point. 

Fish. — A large piece of wood or iron applied to a mast to strengthen it. 

Fish-hook. — Brings the fluke to the rail. 

Fish Tackle. — The tackle for moving the anchor to and from the cat- 
head. 

Forecastle (Fo'cast'l). — Upper deck in the fore part of the ship; also 
the cabin under it where the sailors live. 



GLOSSARY. 399 

Forward. — The fore part of a ship. 
Forereach. — To shoot ahead, or pass another vessel. 
Freshen the Ballast. — To divide or separate it. 
Furl the Sail. — Wrap it close and bind it to the yard. 

G-. 

Gage. — The number of feet of water the ship draws or floats in. 
Gammon the Bowsprit. — Secure it by a strong rope around it and into 

the cutwater. 
Gasket. — A flat, plaited cord fastened to the sail yard of a ship, used to 

tie the sail to the yard when furled. 
Girt. — The ship is girt with her cables when too tight moored (too short 

cables). 
Girt-line. — Small line used to haul a heavy rope up aloft. 
Grappling-iron, — An iron with four or more prongs or hooks. 
Greave. — Tq burn the filth from a ship's bottom. 
Gripe of a Ship. — The thin part under counter to which the stern-post 

joins. 
Gripes. — The ship gripes when she turns her head too much to the 

wind, or carries too much weather helm. 
Ground-tackle. — Cables, anchors, grapnels, hawsers, etc., anything 

used to secure the vessel at anchor. 
Ground-tier. — The lowest tier of casks in the ship's hold. 
Grummet. — Oar-locks for large boats, made of coiled rope, used for 

fenders. 
Gunnel (gunwale). — The upper band of timber that finishes the hull. 
Gun-room. — Room for the small arms and the gunner on a war-ship. 

Hail. — To 6peak to, or call to another ship. 

Halyards. — The ropes by which the sails are hoisted. 

Hard-A-weather. — Put the tiller to windward. 

Haul.— Pull. 

Hawser — A cable. 

Hawse-holes. — Holes in the bows for the cables. Fresher-hawse, 

means to pay or veer out more cable. To clap a service in the 

hawse, is to bush it to prevent chafing by the cable. Across hawse, is 

to be athwart another ship's head, or bows. 
Heave of the Sea. — The power of the swell of the sea to drive a ship 

out of or on her course, which must be reckoned in sailing. 
Heave Handsomely. — Gently or leisurely. 
Heave Hearty. — Heave strong and quick. 



400 GLOSSARY. 

Heave the Capstan. — That is, turn it around with the bar-s. 

Heel. — Incline. Heels to port; that is, rolls over to left side. The 

after part of the keel. 
Helm. — The tiller and the wheel used to steer a vessel. 
Helm's-a-lee. — Tiller turned to leeward. 
Hitch. — To make fast. 
Hoist. — To haul, sway, or lift up. 

Hold. — Space between the lower deck and bottom of a ship. 
Hulk. — Hull, without masts or rigging. 
Hull. — The body of the ship. To lay a hull, is to lay to with a small 

sail in a gale. 
Hull-down. — When a ship is so far off that the masts only are seen. 

J". 

Jeers. — The ropes by which the lower yards are suspended. 

Jeer -BLOCKS. — Blocks through which the jeers are rove. 

Jolly-boat. — Small boat. Yawl. 

Jib. — Foremost sail of a ship. Triangular, extended from the jibboom 

to the fore-topmast head. 
Jibboom. — A spar extending forward from the bowsprit. The flying- 

jibboom extends beyond the jibboom. 
Jibe. — To shift the mainsail of a schooner or sloop. Jibe the boom over. 
Junk. — Old rope, or cordage, used for making spunyarn, sinnet, points, 

gaskets, mats, etc., and when picked into shreds makes oakum. 

JSZ. 

Keel. — The strongest timber in a ship, extending from stem to stern at 

the bottom, supporting the whole frame. 
Keel-haul. — Formerly practiced in the Dutch navy, by hauling a person 

down one side of a ship, under the keel and up the other side, as a 

punishment for certain offenses. 
KNIPPERS. — A large plaited rope used to bind the cable and messenger 

together. Foretopman puts them on, and the maintopman takes 

them off. 

L. 
Labors. — The ship labors, when it rolls and pitches much in a gale. 
Landfall. — The discovery of land. 
Land-locked. — Surrounded on all sides by land. A bay or harbor where 

the sea cannot be seen, being hidden by hills. 
Lanch-ho. — High enough. Stop. Avast. 
Lanyards. — Small ropes at the ends of shrouds by which they are hove 

taut. 



GLOSSARY. 401 

Larboard. — Left, as you face the bow. Larboard side is now called 

port. 
Lash. — To bind. 

Lee Shore. — The shore against which a wind blows. 
Leeward. — With the wind. 
Lifts. — Ropes from mast-heads to the ends of the yards, by which the 

yards are steadied. 
List. — Incline. List to port, that is, to larboard. 
Log, Log-line. — By which the ship's progress is measured. 
Luff. — To turn the ship's head towards the wind; to sail nearer the wind. 
Luff-A-LEE. — Throw the ship's head into the wind. A ship springs her 

luff when she yields to the helm by sailing nearer the wind. 
Luff Tackle. — A large tackle not located, but movable to any place. 

Mast. — A large round timber standing on end on the keel of a vessel, 
and rising high in proportion to the size of the ship, on which the 
yards and sails are suspended. When there are more than one they 
are named main-mast, mizzen-mast, fore-mast, top-mast, etc. Masts 
are now made of iron tubes. 

Mend the Service. — Put on more ropes, etc., to prevent chafe. 

Messenger. — A small cable used to assist in lifting the anchor. 

Moor. — To secure the ship with two anchors. 

Moorings. — Anchors, cables, chains and bridles, by which a ship is con- 
fined in a harbor; also called ground tackle. 

Muster. — To assemble. 

Mouse. — A knob formed on a rope by spun yarn. To mouse a hook, is 
to fasten a small line across the part to prevent unhooking. 

1ST. 

Narrows. — A narrow strait of water between two seas or lakes, or a 
bay and sea. 

Neap-tides. — Tides in the first and last quarters of the moon. Lower 
than the tides at the full moon. 

Nothing off. — Do not turn or go from the wind. A direction to the 
wheelman. 

Nun-buoy. — Buoy used in the British navy, large in the middle, taper- 
ing to a point both ways. 

O- 

Oakum. — The substance of old hemp ropes and cables, untwisted and 
pulled into loose fibres; used for caulking ship's seams, stopping 
leaks, etc. That from untarred ropes is called white oakum. 



402 GLOSSARY 

Offing. — To seaward from the land. Deep water some distance from 
shore. The ship stands for the offing when going towards the sea. 

On Board. — In the ship. On deck. 

Orlop. — Deck on which cables are stored. 

Overboard. — Out of the ship into the sea. 

Overhaul. — To examine, disentangle and clear away rope or any other 
thing or stuff in the way of board. A ship overhauls another when 
she gains on the other in sailing, or comes up with her. 

DP- 
PARBUCKLE. — A purchase formed of a single or double rope around any 
heavy body, one end being fastened and the other hauled. 

Parcel. — To put a lot of canvas around a rope before the rope or wire 
service is put on. 

Parceling is long, narrow slips of canvas daubed with tar and bound 
about a rope like a bandage before it is sewed. Also, to raise a 
mouse on cords, ropes, stays, etc. 

Parcel A Seam. — To place narrow slips of canvas over it before it is 
payed. 

Pay the Seams. — Pour out hot pitch or tar on the caulked seam. 

PAY Out the Cable. — Shove it out at the hawse holes. To cover any 
body to preserve it against water or weather. Cover it with a mix- 
ture of tallow, sulphur, resin, etc. To bream. To pay a mast, 
besmear it with tar, resin, varnish, etc. To pay off the crew, pay 
their wages due. 

Pay off. — To fall to leeward, as the head of a ship. 

Peek. — To ride a stay-peek, is when the cable and the shore-stay form a 
a line. To ride a short peek, is when the cable is so much in as to 
destroy the line formed by the stay-peek. To ride with the yards 
apeek, is to have them topped up by contrary lifts like an X. 

Points. — A number of plaited ropes made fast to the sails for the pur- 
pose of reefing. They taper both ways from the middle. 

Point. — To point a rope, is to taper it by taking out strands at the end. 
To point a sail, is to fix points of cords through the eyelet-holes of 
the reefs. To point the yards, is to brace them up so the wind will 
strike them obliquely. 

Point-blank. — Direct, center shot. 

Poop. — The after-part of a ship, from the stern to the mizzen-mast. 

Pooping. — Shock of a heavy sea on the stern or quarter of a ship. One 
ship running her stem against another's stern. 



GLOSSARY. 403 

Port. — Harbor, haven; any cove, inlet, bay, mouth of a river; any 
natural or artificial refuge, as a dock inside a breakwater, etc. 

Ports. — Holes in the sides of a ship for entering or leaving, or for firing 
cannon through. 

Port of Entry. — Port with a custom-house. 

Pudding and Dolphin — Large and small pads made of ropes, and put 
around the masts under the lower rigging. 

Q.- 

Quarter of a Ship. — That part of the side near the stern. 

Quarter-gallery. — A balcony on the quarter of a ship. 

Quarter-railing. — Narrow planks, from the top of the stern to the 
gangway, serving as a fence to the quarter-deck. 

Quarter-deck. — Extends from the stern to the mainmast. On some 
vessels it is raised a little above the main deck, and does not extend 
to the mainmast. 

Quarter-bill. — A list of the stations where officers and crew are to 
stand in action, or battle. 

Quarter-cloths. — Long strips of painted canvas extended on the out- 
side of the quarter-netting from the gallery to the gangway. 

Quarter-master. — Officer who attends to the helm, binnacle, signals, 
etc. 

Quarter-wind. — Wind blowing in abaft the main shrouds. 

Ratlin, RATLINE. — Small tarred lines crossing the shrouds, forming a 
ladder on which the sailors go aloft. 

Reach of a River. — Shore of a river between two points in a direct 
line. 

Reeve. — To pass the end of a rope through any hole in a block, thimble, 
cleat, ring bolt, cringle, etc. To unreeve, is to take it out. 

Ride at Anchor. — A ship held by the anchor against wind and tide 
To ride athwart, is to be with the side to the tide. To ride hawse 
fallen, is when water breaks into the hawse hole in a rough sea. 

Road. — The sea near the land where ships may safely anchor, though 
not entirely sheltered. Roadstead. 

Rounding Service. — Small ropes, or pieces of old ropes, put in be- 
tween the layers of a cable before it is sewed. 

Round to. — To turn the head of a ship toward the wind. 

Round up. — To haul up the slack of a rope, or of a tackle. 

Round-house — The master's berth; a cabin in the after part of the 
quarter-deck, with the poop for roof, called the coach, 



404 GLOSSARY. 

Rother, Rudder. — By which the ship is steered ; a broad plank hung 

on hinges to the stern-post, and turned by the tiller. 
Rother-nails. — Nails with very full, wide heads, for fastening the 

rudder irons of ships. 
Rullock. — Niche in a boat's side in which the oars are used. Rowlock. 
Rowse in the Cable. — Haul in the cable; make it tight. 
Run. — A ship's day's run. A voyage. An agreement among sailors to 

work a passage from one port to another. Also, the aftmost part of 

a ship's bottom 
Running-rigging. — Such rigging or ropes as passes through blocks, 

etc., as distinguished from standing-rigging. Old standing-rigging 

makes very poor running-rigging — that is, a captain don't like to go 

before the mast as a sailor. 

S. 

Sands, or Sends. — When the ship's stern sinks low in the trough of a 

rough sea. 
Scud. — Loose, vapory clouds, driven by swift wind. To go right before 

the wind. Scudding under bare poles — that is, all sails furled. 

This is also called spooning. 
Seize. — To fasten two ropes together with a cord. Seizing is doing such 

work, and also the name of the cords used. 
Serve. — To wind something about a rope to prevent it from chafing or 

fretting. Service is the name of the thing wound about the rope. 
Settle — To lower. Settle the topsail halyards — that is, lower them. 
Sheer. — The long curve of the ship's sides, or deck. To shear about, is 

to decline or deviate from the proper course, as when not steered 

steadily. To break sheer, is to swing round and risk fouling the 

anchor. 
Sheers. — Two or more timbers fastened at their tops, and used to raise 

heavy things, as masts. 
Sheer-hulk, — An old ship cut down to the lower deck, and used in 

repairing other ships, and provided with sheers, derricks, etc. 
Sound. — To measure or try the depth of water, by a line with a heavy 

weight at the end. When tallow or some other sticky substance is 

put on the weight, called arming, small things, earth, gravel, shells, 

etc , are brought up from the bottom. These indicate the distance 

from shore, or the safety as to anchorage. A sound is also a deep 

bay, or inland sea, as Long Island Sound. 
Sounding-rod. — Iron, or other rod or nole, used to sound the depth of 

water in the hold of a vessel. 



GLOSSARY. 405 

Shank Painter. — A short rope and chain which holds up the shank 
and flukes of the anchor against the ship's side, as the stopper fastens 
the ring and stock to the cat-head. 

Sinnett. — A small rope plaited from rope yarns. 

Soundings. — Any part of the sea, or ocean, where an ordinary sounding- 
line will reach bottom 

Spear of the Pump. — The handle of a hand-pump. 

Spilling Lines. — Ropes to prevent the sails from blowing away in 
rough weather. 

Spring. — To break, as to break a mast or yard, is to split or spring it. 

Spring-stays. — The stays are large ropes from the mast-head forward, 
and fastened near the stem, to prevent them from springing back- 
ward when the ship is sending deep. The spring-stay is a smaller 
rope placed higher. The fore-stay, from the foremast head toward 
the bowsprit end; the main-stay extends to the ship's stem; the 
mizzen-stay, to a collar on the main-mast, etc. See the engraving. 

Spring Tides. — At the new and full moon; they are higher than the 
neap tides at the quarters. 

Spur Shoes. — Large pieces of timber abaft the pump well. 

Stay. — Going about or changing the course of a ship, with a shifting of 
the sails. To be in stays, is to lie with the head to the wind, and 
the sails so arranged as to check her progress. To miss stays is to 
fail in going about. 

Stoppers. — Short pieces of rope used to make something fast, as an 
anchor or cable, and also for preventing the running-rigging from 
coming up while the crew are belaying it. 

Stem. — The piece of timber that unites the two sides of the ship at the 
fore-end. The lower end is scarfed to the keel, and the bowsprit 
rests on its upper end. From stem to stern, the entire length. The 
ship stems the tide, that is, makes progress against the tide. 

Stretch Out. — Said to sailors in a boat to urge them to pull the oars 
strong. 

Steady. — Said to the wheelman; meaning, keep the ship on the same 

course. 
Starboard. — Right-hand side of the ship. 
Steeve. — Turning up at an angle. The bowsprit steeves too much 

when it rises too high, or is too upright. 
Sued. — A ship on shore that loses water is said to be sued. (Sewered ?) 
Swab. — A large mop of rope-yarn for cleaning deck or cabin. 
Sway Away. — Hoist. 



406 GLOSSARY. 

T- 

Tack. — A rope used to confine the lower corners of the courses and stay- 
sails when the wind crosses the ship obliquely; also a rope used to 
pull the lower corner of a studding-sail to the boom; also the part 
of a sail to which the tack is usually fastened; and also the course 
of a ship in regard to the position of her sails, as the starboard tack 
or port tack. To hold tack, is to last or hold out. The tack of a 
flag, is a line spliced into the eye at the bottom of the tabling for 
securing the flag to the halliards. To tack, is to change the course 
of the ship by shifting the tacks and position of the sails from one 
side to another. Tack means to go about. Tack is also food. 
Hard tack is very dry biscuit 

Tackling. — Furniture of the masts and yards of a ship, as cordage, 
sails, etc. 

Taffrail. -The upper part of a ship's stern; flat, like a table, on the 
top, and sometimes ornamented with carved work. 

Tampions (Tomkins). — Wooden stopper of a cannon's mouth. 

Taut. — Tight, tort. 

Tell-tale. — A pointer which shows on the poop-deck the position of 
the tiller. 

Tide-gate. — Where the tide runs strong or swiftly. 

Tide-it-up. — To go with the tide against the wind. Tide, to go with 
the stream. 

Tier. — A row; a tier of guns, of casks, of ships, etc. The tiers of a 
cable are the ranges of fakes or windings of the cable laid one 
within another when coiled. 

Timber. — A rib or curving piece of wood branching outward from the 
keel and rising to the top of the ship's side. 

Tarpaulin. — Cloth or canvas covered with tar or waterproof composi- 
tion. 

Top. — A platform around the head of a mast; it extends the shrouds by 
which they better support the mast. 

Top Block. — A block hung to an eye-bolt in the cap, used in swaying 
and lowering the topmast. 

Top Chain. — A chain to sling the yards in. 

Top Cloth. — A piece of cloth to cover hammocks. 

Topgallant. — Next above the topsail. 

Topmast. — Second mast. The third is top-gallant-mast. 

Topsail. — Sail on the topmast. 

Top Tackle. — A large tackle hooked to the lower end of the topmast 
top-rope and to the deck. 



GLOSSARY. 407 

TOUCH. — The broadest part of a plank worked top and butt, or the 
middle of a blank worked anchor-stock fashion; also, the angles of 
the stern timbers at the counters. 

Tow. — To drag, as a boat or ship, through water by a rope. Several 
boats or a ship make a tow. 

Track. — To tow; to draw a vessel by a line from the shore. 

Trades. — The tradewinds. Winds in the torrid zone and beyond that 
region, which blow from the same quarter throughout the year, 
except when changed by local causes for a short time. Their 
general direction is from N.E. to S.W. north of the equator, and 
from S.E. to N.W. south of the equator. 

TRAIL-BOARDS. — The carved work between the cheeks of the head, at 
the heel of the figurehead. 

Traverse — To go backwards and forwards. 

Truck — A small wheel. A small wooden cap at a masthead, or of a 
flagstaff. 

Truss.- -A rope used to keep the center of a yard to the mast. 

Twice-laid. — Codfish and potatoes. 

XT. 

Unbend. — To cast off a sail from a yard. 
Under Way. — A ship sailing is under way. 
Unfurl. — Cast loose the gasket of the sail. 

Uvrow. — The piece of wood by which the legs of the crow-foot are 
extended. 

"V- 

Vane. — A small flag at the masthead to note the course of the wind. 
Veer. — Let out, as veer away the cable, veer or wear the ship — that is, 

put her about with her head to leeward, the contrary way to tacking. 
Veer. — To shift. The wind veers — that is, changes, shifts. 
VlOL. — A large rope used in weighing anchor, and other heavy work. 

Also written voyol. 

W- 

Wake. — Track of a ship in the water. To be in the wake of a vessel is 

to follow close behind in a line with her keel. 
Wales. — Strong timbers all around a ship above the water-line. 
Warp. — A hawser, or small cable. To warp a ship, is to draw her 

against the wind by anchors carried out and hawsers hove in. 
Water-line. — The line of water at the surface around a ship afloat. 
Weigh. — To haul up, as an anchor. 



408 GLOSSARY. 

"Wings. — Parts of the hold and orlop deck nearest the sides. 
WlNOAND-WlNG. — A two-masted schooner sails wing-and-wing when 

the foreboom is to port and the mainboom to starboard, or vice 

versa. 
Wind. — In the wind's eye, toward the point from which the wind blows. 

Between wind and water, means the part of a ship at or just below 

the water-line. Windbound, prevented from sailing by a contrary 

wind. 
Work to Windward. — To beat against a wind. 
Work Double Tides. — To do two or three day's work in one. 



Yaw. — To steer wild, or out of a course. 
Yawl. — Small boat with two or more oars. 



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